Rollercoaster Lab
For this lab, we were asked to build a roller coaster using pipe instillation tubes cut in half that were taped to a wall or white board with the group we were assigned to. Each roller coaster had to include at least three hills and one loop. We also ad to find the potential and kinetic energy of each hill and draw a model of what the roller coaster looked like and measure each of the different heights of every hill and loop. The trick was that we had to be able to drop a marble at the beginning of the roller coaster and go all the way to the end without stopping. We had to find ways of utilizing the initial force and the kinetic forces of each hill to not make it stop; it had to also go slow enough so that the marble would always stay on the track.
I thought that this was a fun lab to do with your group because it was challenging and fun at the same time. I felt that this project really helped me understand how to find kinetic and potential energy when given specific heights; I felt that because we were put into groups, it was easier to understand the formulas because you are also helping others, which means you keep repeating the formula. That being said, I learned from this project that I learn best by teaching others and this can help me study.