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Name _________________________ per____ due date_________ mailbox_____

Think now / do now Pre – Skate / coaster Lab

WRITE LETTER ANSWERS BELOW ON THE LINE

1. ____ At which position will the PE be greatest for the rider? A. B. C. D. E. F.

2. ____ At which position will the KE be greatest for the rider? A. B. C. D. E. F.

3. ____ Assume the skater states at position B and rides back and forth like a roller coaster adding no

new force. Assume a standard coefficient of friction. Once all the energy has been dissipated by

friction where will the rider most likely end up? A. B. D. E. F.

4. How would you find (calculate) the PE of a “coaster” at position A. Discuss / Take NOTES

5. How would you find (calculate) the KE of a “coaster” at position C. Discuss / Take NOTES

See the “Directions for labeling sketches on the laboratory cover.” Sketch Terminology

1 - How are you expected to label potential energy on your sketches for designed skater-coasters?

_______________________________________ write

2 - How are you expected to label kinetic energy on your sketches for designed skater-coasters?

_______________________________________ write

3 - How are you expected to label thermal energy on your sketches for designed skater-coasters?

_______________________________________ write

A

B

C

D

E

F

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Go to my website. Select Energy Tab. Scroll down to Roller Coaster Computer Lab Experiment. Select:

Download and run Java, select yes.

Complete sentences for credit where applicable. -------------

1. Click on “Intro”. Experiment with the skater a little. What do you notice

about the kinetic and potential energy?

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What color is Kinetic?__________ What color is Potential? __________

Is this skater abiding by or obeying the laws of physics? Circle Yes or No

What is missing? ______________

2. Click on “Friction”. Experiment with the skater. What do you notice about

the kinetic and potential energy now, with respect to thermal?

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What is generating or making thermal energy missing? One word the

term? ______________

3. Click on “Playground”. 2minutes, learn the controls and how to build tracks.

Note the difference between solid lined and dashed track.

You will be engineering your own tracks. Your “Final Authentic

Assessment” in this course involves the physics roller coasters. Try out skateboard mode, but

then make sure you are working with dashed track or roller coaster mode in the next section.

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Name _________________________ per____ due date_________ mailbox_____

Lab QUESTIONS:

1. What forms of energy are involved in any rollercoaster or bull

dog skater on a ramp for that matter?

Circle all that apply.

READ-READ-READ- You will be sketching several “coaster ramps” that you have designed in the

computer lab. Directions for labeling sketches.

_______________________________________________________________________

1. Click out of Energy Skate Park Basic – Click into Energy Skate Park 2.13

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/physics/motion

2. Turn GRID on. Top right corner.

2. Zoom out to 20meters for your work space frame. This will give you lots more design space

and fir the sketched parameters already defined for you on the next page.

3. Right click on the track and select Roller-coaster Mode.

4. Design a track, Select your skater, Adjust your Mass, Select the various energy graphs, be sure and

select a track friction coefficient once ready to start for analyzing your coaster track for the formal lab

write-up.

You can of course experiment with space, Jupiter or the Moon, but be sure to be in Earth mode for your

analysis, with friction on, the window zoomed to 20m frame and coaster track mode on.

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To receive full credit for sketch must include the following: Note however coasters can be more elaborate

1- Label potential energy spots along the coaster track. Label as follows: (Option colored pencils)

For greatest potential (1SThill)→(PE3) & then second hill→ (PE2), (PE1), etc.

2- Label these kinetic energy spots along the coaster track. Label as follows:

For highest speed near bottom of 1st hill → (KE3), then (KE2), (KE1), etc.

3- Next label at least 2 sections of track where you would expect the greatest thermal energy transfer

friction zones as→ (TE-1) & (TE-2)

4- Record mass of skater here _________

Lab Write - Up (Earth mode on, some amount of friction on, grids on) Why do roller coasters crash at the end? Why might your skate have flown off the end of the

ramp at some point? Discuss using the following terms (potential energy, kinetic energy &

thermal energy or friction).

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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____ 1. Do you think the Skater will make it over

the first hump? (No friction on the track)

A. No, because his potential energy will be

converted to thermal energy

B. No, because he doesn’t have enough potential

energy

C. Yes, because all of his potential energy will be

converted to kinetic energy

D. Yes, because some of his energy will be potential and some kinetic

____ 2. Do you think the Skater will make it over the first hump? (lots of track friction)

A. No, because potential energy(PE) will be converted to thermal energy & not enough PE.

B. Yes, because gravity is 9.807m/s2

C. Yes, because all of his potential energy will be converted to kinetic energy

D. Yes, because some of his energy will be potential and some kinetic

__________________________________________________________________________

____ 3. Do you think the Skater will make it over

the first hump? (No friction on the track)

A. No, because he doesn’t have enough potential

energy.

B. Yes, because all the potential energy will be

converted into kinetic energy.

C. Cannot be determine here.

____ 4. Does the Skater make it over the first hump? (lots of track friction)

Test it out. Note 5.5 meter drop and a 2 meter rise with a 45 degree slope. Try several masses

too. Be sure to be set to max (lots) friction.

A. No, because to much potential energy is converted to thermal energy.

B. Yes, too much energy is converted to thermal.

C. Yes, because all of his potential energy will be converted to kinetic energy.

D. Yes, because some of his energy will be potential and some kinetic.

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____ 5. If in the next moment, the KE piece of

the pie gets larger, then

A. the Skater is going up hill (left).

B. the Skater is going down hill (right).

C. PE is increasing.

D. there is no way to tell exactly.

____ 6. If in the next moment, the KE piece of the pie gets larger, then

A. the PE part stays the same.

B. the PE part gets larger too.

C. the PE part gets smaller.

D. there is no way to tell exactly.

____ 7. In the next moment, the KE piece of the pie gets larger, then

A. the Skater will be going faster.

B. the Skater will be going slower.

C. there is no way to tell exactly.

8.____ If we were to decrease the height of a skater ramp, what would that do to the PE?

A. increase B. decrease C. remain the same D. cannot be determined

9.____ If we were to increase the mass of a skater, what would that do to the KE?

A. increase B. decrease C. remain the same D. cannot be determined

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PREPERATORY ASSIGNMENT – READ PAGE 7 AND ANSWER VOCAB

Vocab Matching - Read the passage on the following page to complete the matching below.

inertia mass gravity height friction velocity

1. ______________: is calculated using both the speed and direction of a moving rollercoaster.

The greater the energy of a rollercoaster the greater this will be.

2. ______________: is the property of a body to resist any change in velocity. Objects in motion will

stay in motion or if at rest will stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. A coaster must be put

into motion by a lift chain. Once rolling down hill only friction built up over the coarse of the track will

stop it.

3. ______________: is energy converted due to the motion of the coaster along the track and through

the air, into heat. This is a force that opposes motion between two or more surfaces in contact with

one another. Motion energy is commonly transformed into heat and sound when surfaces grid against

one another.

4. ______________: is determined by the total number of cars and their passengers in a roller coaster.

This variable is used in calculation of both potential and kinetic energy. This is the amount of matter in

an object.

5. ______________ Acceleration due to this value is a constant for mass on earth. Energy of the

coaster is converted to other forms when the coaster goes up hill having to work against this law of

physics and is also converted when the coaster accelerates down hill due to principle of physics as well.

6. ______________: This is determined by total elevation of the coaster on the very first hill.

This value is measured in meters and the greater this value the greater the potential energy of

coaster.