What is Roller coaster: Definition and 228 Discussions
A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. People ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are often found in amusement parks and theme parks around the world. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, related to the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. The track in a coaster design does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters demonstrate. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably Wild Mouse roller coasters, run with single cars.
A roller coaster car is on a track that forms a circular loop in the vertical plane. If the car is to just maintain contact with the track at the top of the loop, what is the minimum value for its centripetal acceleration at this point?
g downward
g upward
0.5 g downward
2 g upward...
Homework Statement
You have been hired to design a roller coaster and are working on two sections. The roller coaster rolls on the track, but is not attached.
If the cars will have a speed of 35 m/s at the bottom of the hill, what is the radius that the circular bottom section of the...
A roller coaster starts at height (h). It goes down this hill and then goes up a second hill that is at a height of 28.5 m at a speed of 15.8 m/s. How high was the initial hill?
Given equations:
U=mgh
KE=1/2mv^2
W=Fd
P=W/T
Honestly, we've never done a problem like this before and...
believe it or not, this is a totally serious question. I am currently trying to design a roller coaster. Given that it is at a slope, what equation(s) would i use to find final velocity knowing gravitational acceleration, slope, and distance of my slope? ex: my slope is 45 degrees in a downward...
So my physics class (No, it's not homework, per se, so I didn't put it in that section) decided we were going to build roller coasters. (Basically, it's a big pain. I wish we hadn't.)
Anyway, here are the rules:
Has to be for a golf ball, made out of recycled materials. This also means no...
Question in this link (includes diagram): http://b.imagehost.org/view/0431/photo"
I am assuming it require Energy equations
The attempt at solution = Fail
Please HELP!
Homework Statement
A mass of 100kg is h meters high on a track that extends into a loop that has a radius of 20m. Assume track is frictionless. I need to find minimum height for the mass to make it around the loop without falling off or going backwards.
Homework Equations
Conservation...
Homework Statement
the rollar coaster is at a height of 15m and going up hill of 47m. its mass is 4.0 x 10^4kg.
find the kinemetic energy of it.
Homework Equations
Ek + Eg = Ek2 + Eg2
PE= mgh
KE= 1/2mv^2
The Attempt at a Solution
i find the potential energy of it which is...
Homework Statement
A 4.0 x 10^4kg roller coaster starts from rest at point A. Neglecting Friction, calculate its potential eneregy relative to the ground, its kinetic energy, and it's speed at points, B, C, and D.
at point A : 54m
B: 15m
c:47m
d:35mHomework Equations
i got potential eneregy by...
Homework Statement
The top of the roller coaster is 77.7m above the earth. From this height what speed can be reached when it reaches the bottom of the drop? This problem must be solved using work and energy equations not kinematic equations..
Homework Equations
Wg=-(mgyf-mgyi)...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster moves 200 ft horizontally and then rises 135 ft at an angle of 30(degrees) above the horizontal. Next, it travels 135 ft at an angle of 40(degrees) below the horizontal. Use graphical techniques to find the roller coaster's displacement from its starting...
Homework Statement
Suppose the vertical loop has a radius of 5.40 m. What is the apparent weight (Wap) of a rider on the roller coaster at the bottom of the loop? (Assume that friction between roller coaster and rails can be neglected. Give your answer in terms of m and g.)
Homework...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster goes through an inside vertical loop at the minimum speed required to just barely make it through the top of the vertical track. At the very top of the track, the magnitude of the centripetal force acting on the 'coaster is
a. mg.
b. 2 mg.
c. 6 mg.
d...
Homework Statement
The roller coaster car shown below has a mass of 800 kg when fully loaded with passengers.
(a) If the car has a speed of 25.0 m/s at point A, what force does the track exert on the car at that
point. (b) If the car has a speed of 10.0 m/s at point B, what force does the track...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster starts its descent with an initial speed of 4 m/s. it moves through a distance of 135 ft (41.1 m) along an incline that makes an angle of 40 degrees with the horizontal. Neglect friction and find its speed at the bottom of the incline.
Homework Equations...
Homework Statement
While most people like high speeds on roller coasters, it is actually the change in acceleration that thrills them. To add more thrills to a ride, a roller coaster designer has decided to make the downward descent from his first hill bumpy. The first 49 m of the track will...
Homework Statement
Consider a frictionless roller coaster. The acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 ms-2. Passenger cars start at point A with zero initial speed, accelerate as they go down to a point B, swing around the vertical circular loop B-C-B of radius 15m, then go on towards further...
Homework Statement
1. Assume the mass of the roller coaster is 750 kg. Answer the following.
a) If the height of the first hill is 35 meters (measured from the ground), calculate the potential and kinetic energies at this highest position on the track.
b) When the riders are at the first...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster ride lasts only 60 seconds. What is the total distance traveled during the 60 seconds, given the position of the roller as a function of time is s(t) = 4cos(t)sin(t).
Homework Equations
Position as a function of time S(t) = 4cos(t)sin(t)
The...
Homework Statement
In one roller coaster car, a small 0.10 kilogram ball is suspended from a safety bar by a short length of light, inextensible string. The car is then accelerated horizontally, goes up a 30 degree incline, goes down a 30 degree incline, and then goes around a vertical...
Homework Statement
Homework Equations
a=(v2-v1)/t
The Attempt at a Solution
I used the vector between the point before A and A as my v2.
I used the vector between the point two before A and the point before A as my v1.
I put them tail to tail and he resultant vector looks like (E) in the...
I am doing an analysis on an actual roller coaster and have Altitude graphs as well as Y and Z acceleration graphs. I am just having trouble with a few things:
1.
With the altitude graph (height vs. time), there is a bit with an incline. Is it possible to find the velocity (it is uniform...
Hi everyone.
I was wondering about the equation of a roller coaster loop. Most people do not realize this, but a roller coaster loop is not a circle.. but rather a 'clothoid loop' shape.. the reason for this being, with a circular loop, the 'G force' varies quite a lot, and is uncomfortable...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster moves through a vertical loop at a constant speed and suspends its passengers upside down. In what direction is the force that causes the coaster and its passengers to move in a circle? What provides this force?
The Attempt at a Solution
We started this...
Homework Statement
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
Ride Designer
A local carnival owner wants you to design a ride for him. Riders are strapped inside a rolling car which rolls down the track shown below. (sorry i can't copy the diagram)
H=50m with 2 loops and...
Homework Statement
A rollercoaster car and passengers have a combined mass of 1620 kgm, and they descend the first hill at an angle of 45o to the horizontal. With what force is the roller coaster pulled down the hill?
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
Vertical force =...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster goes around a vertical loop of 20.0m. a) What is the minimum speed the cars must be moving so that the passengers do not fall out at the top? b) Assuming that the car maintains the same constant speed what is th effective weight of the passengers at the...
A roller coaster moves 201 ft horizontally, then rises 150 ft at an angle of 27.5o above the horizontal. It then travels 150 ft at an angle of 38.2o below the horizontal. What is the magnitude of its displacement from the starting point at the end of this movement? What is the angle relative to...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster car is on a track that forms a circular loop of radius R in the vertical plane.
(a) If the car is to maintain contact with the track at the top of the loop, what is the minimum speed v that the car must have at the bottom of the loop? Ignore air...
Homework Statement
A small cube (m=0.450 kg) is at a height of 393 cm up a frictionless track which has a loop of radius, R = 58.95 cm at the bottom. The cube starts from rest and slides freely down the ramp and around the loop. Find the speed of the block when it is at the top of the loop...
Homework Statement
A 4.0X104 (or 40,000) Kg roller coaster starts from rest at point A. Neglecting friction, calculate its potential energy relative to the ground, its kinetic energy and speed at points B, C, and D.
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6162/1234q.png
(scanned Image, if you...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster car on the frictionless track shown in the figure below starts from rest at height h. The track's valley and hill consist of circular-shaped segments of radius R. Find the formula for the maximum height h_max for the car to start so as to not fly off the...
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9297/masteringphysicsq1.jpg
At the bottom it's 510N, Top 666N,
at bottom Fnormal=netforce= mv^2/r + mg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8244/masteringphysicsq1g.jpg
-my attempt
I'm not sure how to figure out the acceleration
or determine the...
I have two questions.
when a car or roller coaster travels in a loop. At the top of the loop the forces that acts on the car are all downwards i.e. W and normal , so the net force is acting downward. I can't figure our any other force acting upward, so what actually will keep the car sticked to...
hello, I'm trying to study for the mcat, and I have a conceptual question about normal force, mg, and centripetal force during a loop-de-loop on a roller coaster.
Could you validate these force equations?
1. At the very bottom of the loop:
N - mg = ma = mv^2 / r
N = mg + ma
2. At the...
Homework Statement
A 900 kg roller-coaster car is initially at the top of a rise, at point A. It then moves 165 ft, at an angle of 40.0° below the horizontal, to a lower point B.
Choose the car at point B to be the zero configuration for gravitational potential energy of the roller...
Homework Statement
Show that on a roller coaster with a circular vertical loop, the difference in your apparent weight at the top of the circular loop and the bottom of the loop is 6 g's--that is six times your weight. Ignore friction. Show also that as long as your speed is above the minimum...
Homework Statement
A 350kg roller coaster starts from rest at point A and slides down the frictionless loop-the-loop shown in the accompanying figure.
http://session.masteringphysics.com/problemAsset/1027487/5/1027487.jpg
1. How fast is this roller coaster moving at point B?
2. How hard...
Homework Statement
http://img57.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fullscreencapture322009.jpg
Part of the track of an amusement park roller coaster is shaped as shown below. A safety bar is oriented length-wise along the top of each car. In one roller coaster car, a small 0.10 kilogram ball is...
Homework Statement
The normal force equals the magnitude of the gravitational force as a roller coaster car crosses the top of a 60m diameter loop-the-loop.
Homework Equations
What is the car's speed at the top?
The Attempt at a Solution
hello, this problem doesn't give much...
Homework Statement
The diagram below shows a roller coaster ride which contains a circular loop of radius r. A car of mass m begins at rest from point A and moves down the frictionless track from A to B where it then enters the vertical loop (also frictionless), traveling once around the...
Homework Statement
We did this roller coaster lab where we had a metal marble roll up and down this roller coaster track.
One of the questions he asked us was "is energy "missing?" explain where it went."
I know friction takes some of it, but I am not good at wording it right to sound...
Homework Statement
A roller coasters weight increases 50% through the center of a dip in the track. The radius of the dip is 30m. What is the speed at the bottom?
Homework Equations
This is a uniform circular motion problem correct? But how do I calculate if I don't know the weight...
Homework Statement
I have a physics question that deals with power. In this problem it is of a roller coaster moving from 7m above ground to a point that is 90m above the ground.
1. What is the power needed for a roller coaster that needs to move 127m and is moving at a velocity of...
Homework Statement
1. A roller coaster car of mass 1500kg starts a distance H=23m above the bottom of a loop 15m in diameter. If friction is negligible, the downward force the rails on the car when it is upside down at the top of the loop is:
a. 4.6*10^4 N
b.3.1*10^4 N
c.1.7*10^4 N
d...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster car has a mass of 800kg. It is released from the top of the hill A and moves without friction down the track. Determine the minimum exit velocity vD at ground level so that the car travels around both the circular loops (Loop B - Radius= 10m, Loop C -...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster car starts from rest and rolls down a frictionless track, reaching Vf ( final speed) at the bottom.
if you want the car to go two times as fast at the bottom by what fator must you increase the height of the track
Homework Equations
KE=1/2mv^2...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster begins with a steep downhill descent followed by a vertical loop. How much higher does the initial hill have to be to than the height of the loop so that the riders experience a force of 1G keeping them in their seats at the top of the loop? Assume that...
Homework Statement
A roller coaster at the Six Flags Great America amusement park in Gurnee, Illinois, incorporates some clever design technology and some basic physics. Each vertical loop, instead of being circular, is shaped like a teardrop. The cars ride on the inside of the loop at the...
You have been hired to design a spring-launched roller coaster that will carry two passengers per car. The car goes up a 12--high hill, then descends 20 to the track's lowest point. You've determined that the spring can be compressed a maximum of 2.3 and that a loaded car will have a maximum...