Kinetic & Potential Energy
What type of energy does a roller coaster have at the highest point of the track?
What is potential energy?
What part of a roller coaster lifts the train to give it potential energy?
What is the chain lift or launch system?
What is the formula for kinetic energy?
Answer: What is KE = ½mv²?
What type of energy increases as the coaster speeds down a hill?
What is kinetic energy?
Why are roller coaster hills usually smaller after the first drop?
What is because some energy is lost due to friction and air resistance?
What is the formula for potential energy?
What is PE = mgh?
What happens to the total mechanical energy (potential + kinetic) of a roller coaster in an ideal frictionless system?
What is it stays constant?
What force opposes motion and reduces mechanical energy in real roller coasters?
What is friction?
A 200 kg roller coaster car is moving at 10 m/s. What is its kinetic energy?
What is 10,000 J?
A coaster car has 5000 J of potential energy at the top of a hill. How much kinetic energy does it have at the bottom (ignoring friction)?
Answer: What is 5000 J?
Why are roller coasters designed with banked turns?
What is to reduce lateral forces and keep the ride smoother and safer?
A roller coaster car with a mass of 1000 kg is at a height of 20 m. What is its potential energy?
What is 196,000 J
Explain how energy is transformed from the top of a hill to the bottom of a roller coaster track.
What is potential energy converting into kinetic energy as the coaster descends?
In a real roller coaster, not all energy is converted between potential and kinetic. Where does the "lost" energy go?
What is into sound, heat, and friction?
A coaster starts at 30 m high with no initial speed. Using energy conservation, what is its speed at the bottom?
What is approximately 24.2 m/s?