Summary
Mark builds a working roller coaster indoors and uses it to show how energy moves through the ride. He breaks down why the first hill has to be the tallest and where the cart is fastest.
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Ages 7+
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
A coaster trades stored (height) energy for motion energy and back again. The taller the hill, the more speed it can become.
- Why does the first hill of a coaster have to be the tallest?
- Where on the track is the cart moving fastest, and where is it slowest? Why?
- What happens to some of the energy because of friction along the track?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: stored energy, energy of motion, friction, speed.
Try it: Roll a marble down a ramp from two different heights. Which height makes it go farther? Explain using the words stored energy and motion.