Physics Grd 12 Wonderland Sky Rider

SkyRider Analysis – Part A: Gathering Background Information Length of one car: 1.72 m Length of one train (6 cars): 10.32 m Maximum g force: 2.5 g’s

Location: Top of loop

Minimum g force: 0.75 g’s

Location: During first big fall (after first hill)

Distance to base of first hill: 50 m, Angle of inclination of the first hill: 20 degrees Height of First Hill: 20.0 m Distance to top of first loop: 28 m, Angle of inclination of the first loop: 32 degrees Height of First Loop: 19.3 m Time for length of train to pass a point on top of the first hill: 2.14 s Time for length of train to pass a point on top of the first hill: 2.54 s

Part B: Exploration Questions 1. Did you feel more force going into or out of the loop? Explain. I felt more force going out of the loop than going in, since while going in I had just come out of a very steep fall, and it felt like there was almost no force acting on me. I felt nearly weightless and seemed to be moving forward only due to the car moving forward itself. While coming out of the loop, it felt more like the ride was being pushed along, as though all the force that seemed nowhere to be found on the coaster was suddenly pushing me forward. This seems to have been caused by the change in speed of the ride as it went through the loop. 2. Why is the first loop at a smaller height than the first hill? Starting at a height equal to the height of the loop will not be enough to completely make it through the loop. This will give the car just enough energy to reach the top of the loop. In order not to fall once the car has reached the top of the loop, the first hill must be higher than the first loop so that it contains enough gravitational potential energy to convert to kinetic energy while moving through the loop, and then some more so it doesn’t stop at any point during the loop. 3. Describe the sensations of weight at the following points. Use the vertical accelerometer and compare the readings with your sensations.

a) Going down the first hill. Felt almost weightless, and the reading on the accelerometer was at minimum, corresponding with feeling.

b) At the bottom of the first hill. Felt weight rushing back to lower body. Accelerometer value rapidly changed (spring bounced up and down several times), felt like it had been shaken up and down rapidly (similar to what I felt). c) Climbing the first loop. Normal weight seemed to return back, but felt it increasing as I slowly entered the loop. Accelerometer also slowly increased in value till it reached the maximum value measured through the ride. d) At the bottom of the first loop. Felt heavy throughout the loop, but slowly decreased back to normal sensation of weight as the loop ended. Accelerometer also returned to reading of 1g. 4. Sketch free-body diagrams of the forces acting on you at:

a) Bottom of first loop.

b) Top of first loop.

Part C: Procedural Calculations 1. Find the speed of the train at a point on top of the first hill:

2. Find the speed of the train at the top of the first loop:

3. Use conservation of energy to determine the speed of the train at the top of the first loop:

4. Account for any differences in your answers for questions 2 and 3: In our calculations for question 3, the friction and air resistance were disregarded as forces that act upon the train while it is moving. Also, the transformation of energy to other forms such as being released as sound energy and heat energy is also disregarded. Only potential and kinetic energies are taken into account, even though in reality there are more types of energy involved in the movement. 5. Calculate the centripetal acceleration at the top of the first loop:

(Uniform motion assumed)

6. Find the centripetal force at the top of the first loop:

[Towards Center of Loop] 7. Find the speed of the train at the bottom of the loop:

Find the normal force acting on yourself at the bottom of the loop:

Ride Proposal: The design of a functional Standing Roller Coaster, such as SkyRider, there is few fundamental elements that must be correctly taken into account in order to provide the best combination of functionality, safety, and excitement. As in almost all roller coasters, the first loop must be at a slightly lower height than the first hill. This ensures that the roller coasters will, under all circumstances, pass through the loop regardless of its mass, speed, friction or wind, since the amount of Kinetic Energy that would be required to cause the loop would be more than available in the form of Gravitational Potential Energy. Most roller coasters should also not exert more than 4 g’s on a human body to ensure safety, and at most we could make the first hill and loop only slightly taller before the acceleration becomes too much for the human body to handle and give more of a thrill ride to the customer. My proposal for an improvement to the current roller coaster track involves the raising of the first hill by several meters, from a height of around 20 m to 25-28 m, and also increasing the height of the first loop by the same amount. This increase would take the feeling of the ride entering and during the loop to an entirely different level, while still remaining safe for the riders. The increased height of the first hill would also let us make the fall slightly steeper, adding an even larger sense of freefall and airtime. These small improvements could definitely help the earlier sections of the coaster, while the increase in overall speed can also help later sections of the ride where we could also add another helix making the large double helix into a triple helix. Another big improvement would be to include a horizontal look that allows a left hand passenger to experience a view of the ground which only right hand passenger does. The ride should give an equal extreme experience top all passengers. The distance in between the cabins should be increased to give a better and wider view to the people who are not in the front seat. This specific had a weird bicycle shaped

seat which I found pretty uncomfortable. These improvements could help us not only make the ride more exciting, but also help cement its place as one of the top rides in Canada’s Wonderland.