Sunday, February 13, 2011

For Your Amusement

FIZIKS IZ FUN

( Much of this material is from The Annenberg Foundation with great appreciation.
They have SUPER stuff.. support them by visiting and learning more about them.
http://learner.org/ and http://www.learner.org/about/legal_policy.html )

Americans are wild about amusement parks. Each day, we flock by the millions to the nearest park, paying a sizable hunk of money to wait in long lines for a short 60-second ride on our favorite roller coaster. The thought prompts one to consider what is it about a roller coaster ride that provides such widespread excitement among so many of us and such dreadful fear in the rest? Is our excitement about coasters due to their high speeds?

Absolutely not! In fact, it would be foolish to spend so much time and money to ride a selection of roller coasters if it were for reasons of speed. It is more than likely that most of us sustain higher speeds on our ride along the interstate highway on the way to the amusement park than we do once we enter the park. The thrill of roller coasters is not due to their speed, but rather due to their accelerations and to the feelings of weightlessness and weightiness that they Roller coasters thrill us because of their ability to accelerate us downward one moment and upwards the next; leftwards one moment and rightwards the next. Roller coasters are about acceleration; that's what makes them thrilling. The centripetal acceleration experienced by riders within the circular-shaped sections of a roller coaster track. These sections include the clothoid loops , the sharp 180-degree banked turns, and the small dips and hills found along otherwise straight sections of the track.produce.

The Clothoid Loop is is the STAR PERFORMER at the amusement park! It is truly out of this world.






You've bought your ticket and boarded the roller coaster. Now you're barreling down the track at 60 miles per hour, taking hairpin turns and completing death-defying loops. Your heart is in your throat and your stomach is somewhere near your shoes. The only thing separating you from total disaster is a safety harness...but are you really in danger?


The designers of the roller coaster carefully crafted this thrilling ride to be just that, but you're actually in less danger than you think. You face a greater threat of injury playing sports or riding a bike than you do on a park ride. Amusement park rides use physics laws to simulate danger, while the rides themselves are typically very safe.

How do physics laws affect amusement park ride design? In this exhibit, you'll have a chance to find out by designing your own roller coaster. Plan it carefully--it has to pass a safety inspection.You can also experiment with bumper car collisions.

Check the physics glossary to find out more about the terms used in this exhibit. Just click on

Ready to roll? Go on to the first ride: The Roller Coaster.

Or your can go
to the Start page...... Zoom

You could of course start by designing your own Roller Coaster,,,,




At any time you can change rides...

Carousels are not considered "thrill machines" by any stretch of the imagination. Still, carousels are as reliant on the laws of motion as their more exciting cousins, the roller coasters. It's theoretically possible that, allowed to spin out of control, a carousel could gain enough speed so that the riders would be thrown off. Thankfully, runaway carousels are not the least bit common.

Newton's third law of motion comes into play on the bumper cars. This law, the law of interaction, says that if one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body. It's the law of action-reaction, and it helps to explain why you feel a jolt when you collide with another bumper car.

Galileo first introduced the concept of free fall. His classic experiments led to the finding that all objects free fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass. According to legend, Galileo dropped balls of different mass from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to help support his ideas.


Pendulum rides are a little like the swing sets you might remember from your childhood. Swings give you a feeling of flying in a controlled manner. You pump your legs to provide enough force to increase the height of the swing's arc, and enjoy the increased velocity of the downward swing. When you stop pumping, the swing gradually slows and then stops.

Ride Safety depends on getting the "math" right don't ya know.

Going on amusement park rides is one of the safest forms of recreation. According to the International Association of Amusement Park Attractions, you are more likely to be injured when you play sports, ride a horse, or even ride a bicycle. Statistics show the occurrence of death to be approximately one in 250 million riders.

Get data on Roller Coasters from all over ....

You can check their claims ...

"Fastest !! " (? really ?)
"Greatest Acceleration !!" ( can you prove it?)
"Highest Speed !!" (is it possible?)


...simply do the Math ! Use the right equations and you can calculate if you are really getting your money's worth




Many of the best amusements are exciting because you can "sense" the feeling of flight. You can find out more about the Fundamentals of Flight here in .....

FLIGHT , THE BASICS from the Smithsonian.


Flight, A Very Natural Occurrence
Gliding Flight
True Flight
Principles of Flight
What is Aeronautics?
How Fluids Move
How Liquids Behave
How Air Moves - Aerodynamics
Measurement
Properties
How Air Moves Over Objects
The National Business Aviation Association.



So... What do you think? ... AMUSING?

Think about velocity, momentum, impulse, force, speed, acceleration, Newton, Galileo ... algebra, mathematics, geometry ....

The next time you get on a new amusement ride, do you hope that the designers paid attention in class?

55 comments:

  1. Mr. V...
    I went on the Annenberg site, and I found out...
    That the earliest known concept of atoms came from Democritus. He was a Greek Philosopher, and he started an atomic theory that, after his death, the philosopher Aristotle argued against. Democritus said that the world was composed of very tiny particles, and the particles were separated by empty space. He called these particles "atoms".
    Kaitlyn Yellow

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  2. Make you wonder how they could dream that up 3000 years ago... since we all know the matter is made up of tiny little green Martians hard at work.


    Your investigation is worth two(2) in the bonus box

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  3. Mr.V from the home text book pg.161 questions what would you put as your answer.
    - Janki Patel
    Thank You

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  4. Mr V, what is the answers to page 163 Section Assessment Questions? I would like to check my answers because i am very confused with number 1c.
    Please help?



    Tyler/Green

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  5. The answer to 1c would be something like thsi...


    An ionic bond holds the ions together. The sodium atom has a charge of 1+, and the chloride ion has a charge of 1-.

    That help?

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  6. Janki remember the elements in the same families have the same charge... so for example Bromine has the same charge as Fluorine.

    There have to be equal number of positive charges (ions) as there are negative charges(ions) for the compounds to bond.

    That help?

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  7. Mr. V for the Tootie-Roll Pop Chemistry, I was rereading all of the pages and it says that we are allowed to ask one free question before the lab and one free question during the lab. Sabrina asked the first question before the before the lab and one during the lab, but we got the -5 point off anyway. Also, near the end Hannah and Savanah asked the same question at the same time, but I think our group was the onyl one to get the -5 points off and not the other group that also asked.
    Allie Yellow

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  8. Mr v i have gotten all the answers to the pg 163 accept 3b can u help me please

    Larry
    Yellow

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  9. is the rerun due tommorow totsie pop and so you dont take off points for question this is hooty the owl yellow

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  10. im not sure if my comment got through is the reun for the tootsie pop due monday?

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  11. Mr. V, I just have 2 questions...
    First, what is the Tootsie Pop Chemistry Write Up? I know it says "Written Conclusion" on the Prog Log, but I am wondering what that means, like if we all have to write one. Second, the Lesson Plan for Species teaching is due tomorrow as well? Just hoping I can get some answers BEFORE tomorrow.
    -Justin, Red/Blue

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  12. Also, what is the 4th paragraph in a RERUN supposed to talk about?
    -Justin, Red/Blue

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  13. The Rerun is not due until the Lab is finished,

    \Hooty Yellow

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  14. then Conclusion is the RERUN format either the simple version / or comprehensive version. You should have a copy in your Field Notebook. It was also posted on the board and the overhead. You can get a new copy tomorrow.

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  15. hey mr v for the rerun if im doing the explain the procedures do i have to number the steps (1,2,3) or do i go first second and so on. Charles, green

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  16. Charles, I suggest you just number the "highlights" can you keep the steps to less than 10?

    I hope so.

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  17. Hey Mr.v for the Tootsie Pop Project my group is still on page.5. So is our Rerun do tomorrow. And would this count as a question on the project.
    - Janki/Blue

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  18. Parts of Your RERUN should be done, you should be prepared to finish it in class.

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  19. Hannah's RERUN (she did question 1):
    What did you learn?
    From doing this experiment I learned that Tootsie Pops can be resembled as different types of elements. I also learned how to combine elements together and how many different combinations you can create. Doing this experiment showed me how to work well together in a group. We all learned how hard it can be not to ask questions and how to work together. The most important thing I learned from doing this experiment is that now I have a better understanding of how to solve and figure out how to express combinations in balanced form.
    Flying Monkey Group yellow (Poseted by Allie, but Hannah's work)

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  20. Sherlock RERUN(she did question 2):
    Did your prediction prove true? false? inconclusive? Experimental errors?
    Our prediction is: If we increase the amount of Tootsie Pops, then we increase the amount of combinations that occur. Our prediction was proven true. The reasons are the more Tootsie Pops, the more combinations you can have. For example, if you have 4 lollipops and you are trying to get all possible combinations times 4*4 and there are sixteen combinations. In our experiment we had 5 Tootsie Pops and came up with 24 combinations.
    Flying Monkey Group yellow(Posted by Allie but Sherlock's work)

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  21. Allie's RERUN (I did question 3):
    New Vocabulary?
    Some vocabulary that the Flying Monkey group used was Gopher- is the only one allowed out of their seat to get the materials the group decides on also known as the supply manager, Chemical formula- a combination of symbols that shows the ratio of an element, and Coefficient- are the only numbers that can be added to a chemical equation and obey the Law of Conservation of Mass. Some other vocabulary that Flying Monkeys used was Elements- Any material that is made up of only one type of atom, Tootsie Pop- hard candy lollipops filled with chocolate-flavored chewy Tootsie Roll and Law of Conservation of Mass- is the fact that matter is not created or destroyed in any chemical or physical change. In addition to the vocabulary already said here is some more Ionic Bond- the attraction between two oppositely charged ions, Ionic Compound- a compound that consists of positive and negative ions, and Subscript- tells you the ratio of elements in the compound.
    Flying Monkey Group yellow (wrote and posted by Allie)

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  22. Sabrina's RERUN (she did question 6):
    With Data for support, your prediction becomes a HYPOTHESIS.
    If we increase the amount of tootsie pops, then we increase the amount of combinations that occur. We used five tootsie rolls to represent, five different kinds of atoms. We came up with a total of 24 possible combinations. If we had more than 5 tootsie pops, we could have many more combinations. Our five tootsie pops where: Chocolate (Ch), Cherry (Cc), Grape (G), Orange (Or) and Raspberry (R). Later on in the experiment we had to create combinations that we had to make balance each other, just by adding whole numbers. This data proves that our prediction was accurate.
    Flying Monkey Group (wrote by Sabrina, posted by Allie)

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  23. Mr. V, On the progress log the very last thing is the build your own rollercoaster right?

    Also what do I put for my grade on the rerun because my group is bringing it to you tomorrow? Do I just have my parent sign it tonight and fill out my grade tomorrow in class?

    Savanah Yellow

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  24. Allie's RERUN (I did question 5):
    What is the connection to the issue?
    The issue is creating new combinations. The plus sign shows adding the reactants together. When there is an arrow, the arrow shows that reactants are being changed into new products. A chemical equation is expressed which chemical symbols and formulas. These are used to represent the chemical reaction. Coefficients are the only numbers that can be added to a chemical equation and obey The Law of Conversation of Mass.
    Flying Monkeys Group yellow (wrote and posted by Allie)

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  25. Savannah - YES. You will find out tomorrow. and Yes.

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  26. Flying Monkeys have done Mastery work on YOUR RERUN.

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  27. Paul's Rerun (he did question 4:
    How would you improve your experiment?
    In order to improve my experiment, I would need to show and to display more detail. For example you would measure the mass, volume, or even width of the lollipop. The more description in this experiment, the better the experiment; I would need to have better communication between partners resulting in a better learning environment producing faster results. I could have had a more experienced background in how to solve equations, and the vocabulary knowledge could be better. Over all the experiment was done well but there are always room for improvement.
    Flying Monkeys Group Yellow (wrote by Paul posted by Allie[sorry this is comming in late, Paul?!])

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  28. Mr.V i read all the stuff about roller coasters off that website and made my own roller coaster, and I had No idea how safe they were!!If they're so safe than why are people so afraid to got on them???I love roller coasters!!
    mikael,blue

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  29. I bet you're glad the builders studied their science, huh?

    Put two(2) in the bonus box

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  30. Mr. V I always thought that some rollercosters were dangerous and I was going to fall out, but I wouldn't. Rollercoaster are way safer than I thought they were. But why on Sherkia do u feel weightless during the drop, because of gravity????
    Allie Yellow

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  31. Allie, first go back to the definition of gravity..

    find the "calculation for a falling object...

    see if that helps... I bet you can figure it out...(besides it is actually in your text book.) Did I say that outloud?

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  32. Mr. V I just finished building my own roller coaste after I read about it on the blog. It was harder than i thought at first i got two thumbs down, but then fixed my mess ups and got two thumbs up!
    Sam Blue

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  33. Atta boy... learning from one's mistakes is the best way sometimes!!

    That's a two pointer for sure!

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  34. Hey Mr. I a thought building a roller coaster will be a piece of cake. But when I thumb down on my roller coaster design I though to my self that it is not going to be that easy. It took me about 4 to 5 try to finally get my design.
    -Janki/Blue

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  35. Thats really cool! I never knew that the lead horse on a carousel was the largest and most decorated!

    LEvi/Green

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  36. Mr v I read through the for the amusement it helped me understand a little bit about fizics

    Gavin
    Blue

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  37. Gavin, what in particular did it help your with?

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  38. Thank you for showing me the url on the progress log Mr.V . Now I can make my for your amusement submitions.

    Tylor
    Green

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  39. I didn't know that there was a lead carosel horse and found that really interesting. Th next time i se a carosel i'm going to try to find it.

    Tylor
    Green

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  40. I learned a lot about free fall in this.. I also learned about the forces of gravity and terminal velocity.

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  41. You should be able to find one at Busch Gardens..

    let me know too!

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  42. I'm glad it helped you with Free Fall... you should be doing some of that at Busch Gardens.

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  43. mr v for the amusement helped me a lot on free fall. and i was wondering if the list of the roller coaster and to find out which one accelerates the fastest is due tomorrow 3/22 of wednsday?

    thankyou

    gavin/blue

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  44. First you should answer the the What / How questions about measure,calculate, observe

    THEN...
    You are to start gathering data.

    Got it?

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  45. mr v, yeah i got thankyou

    gavin/blue

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  46. so if the max velocity a roller coaster can reach is 9.8m/s s why do they say the roller coaster reaches up to 50 or 60 mph?
    mikaela/blue

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  47. Mikaela ... among other things ( like converting mph to mps)

    one is velocity and the other is speed.

    Got it?

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  48. mrv, I'm trying to find out the roller coaster with the greatest acceleration and i cant find any sites that tell you the acceleration
    Grace/blue

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  49. Grace you calculate acceleration. Go back to definition and formula.

    You may think of a way to do "observational" testing. Think about what acceleration and "de-acceleration" ( not really a word ) feels like. What do people who are accelerating do / look like on a roller coaster?

    If the volume of screaming increases then the acceleration __________ ?

    other ideas?

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  50. So im kinda confused about what we are doing tomorrow because kids from other classes say they have to go to stations and do activities. Are we doing that or just gtherinjg our data by riding the roller coasters and doing that worksheet you have or what?
    mikaela/blue

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  51. You know what you have to do... test your predictions (3) and gather data. and..... then,

    Yes! there are other things to do to! What? you didn't think I had some surprises up my sleeve?

    Ah hahahah

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