VALLEYFAIR PHYSICAL SCIENCE DAY - MAY 16, 2017

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1 VALLEYFAIR PHYSICAL SCIENCE DAY - MAY 16, 2017 SCHEDULE 7:40 a.m. Report to JM Auditorium/Use restroom at school before we leave! 8:00 a.m. Report to assigned bus. Complete travel packet - Conscientious Commuting during round trip. NO "BOOM BOXES" ALLOWED. You must use headphones if you want to listen to music!!! PLEASE DO YOUR PART TO KEEP THE BUS CLEAN AND KEEP TRACK OF YOUR BELONGINGS. Neither the bus driver, nor the chaperones are responsible for the protection of your belongings. You may want to lock your valuables in the luggage compartment under the bus if you do not plan to take them into the park with you. 10:00 a.m. Arrive at Valleyfair. Park opens!! Have a fun, safe, and scientific day!! Remember: You Are Here Today In The Name Of SCIENCE! 10:30-12:00 Between 10:30 and noon, you will need to complete 3 of 6 ride activities. You may do more for additional credit. A JM teacher will be stationed at the ride exit of the following: Enterprise, Wave, Bumper Cars, Carousel, Corkscrew, and Flume. They will have the pencils and appropriate ride form. Complete form and return to instructor before proceeding to the next ride. Teachers will leave the ride exits at noon!!!! 12:30-1:30 Buses will be open for lunch break. You may use picnic tables adjacent to the parking lot if you are planning a picnic with friends. Please remember to have your hand stamped with the fluorescent dye before entering the parking lot. You can be readmitted without charge by showing your hand stamp under the ultraviolet lamp at the main gate. 3:30 p.m. Start heading for the parking lot and begin to board the bus. You must return on the same bus. Please use the restrooms in the park before returning to the bus. 4:00 p.m. Buses leave for home. Use this time to finalize your packet - Conscientious Commuting. The packets will be collected as you exit the bus at John Marshall! *** It is YOUR responsibility to make sure your packet gets turned in before you leave the bus at JM!!!!!!! 6:00 p.m. Return to John Marshall. (You will be able to get into the building.) You will NOT be excused until the bus is cleaned and inspected. Make sure you take everything with you as you leave for home. We hope that you have an exciting day! Name Teacher Hour Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

2 Introduction: VALLEYFAIR PHYSICAL SCIENCE Welcome to Valleyfair Physical Science Day. Valleyfair is a 65-acre family amusement park bordering the Minnesota River. As the upper Midwest's largest theme park, it features more than two dozen exhilarating rides designed and operated around many principles and laws of science. Without science and engineering, Valleyfair would not exist. Yea! - Let's hear it for SCIENCE. Today, your assignment is to use your thinking skills to make careful observations, predict, and draw conclusions and to have a lot of fun in the name of science. Hopefully, you will be able to experience first hand, many of the scientific concepts and principles you studied in your classrooms this past year. While you are making the observations and taking measurements we would appreciate it if you would observe the following rules to insure your safety and the safety of others. 1. Your activities must not interfere with the operation of any ride or interfere with a park employee's job. 2. Stay in public access areas only. 3. Follow all park rules. 4. Follow the directions of any park employee. 5. Show proper respect to other park guests. Valleyfair is most exciting when you experience the thrills of the day with friends. Your assignment for the day is to have fun and make a connection between physics and the fun you are having. To receive credit, you must complete and hand in the travel packet (Conscientious Commuting) and 3 of the 6 ride activities. You are in high school now, so you are responsible for yourself and your work. You will not receive credit for any work not properly completed; this includes name, teacher, and hour on all your work. If you need assistance, check Area #48, the Dining Patio near the final slide of the Log Flume. Adults from John Marshall will be seen in the area often. If there is an emergency, contact a park employee. *** It is YOUR responsibility to make sure your packet Constants gets turned in before you leave the bus at JM!!! 3.28!!!! feet = 1 meter 1 kilometer = 1000 meters A Helping Hand 1 acre = 43,560 square feet or = 4,840 square yards 1 square yard =.81 square meters Leave This packet On The Bus! g Complete Page = Name, meters Teacher, per Hour second 2 π = mile = 1.61 kilometers

Speed = total dist total time Circumference = π Diameter = 2π radius Speed of Rotating Body = Circumference period Acceleration = (Final Velocity - Initial Velocity) time Torque = force x Lever Arm*

3 Bus Ride As you ride the bus to Valleyfair Newton's Three Laws of Motion First Law... Inertia Second Law... Force = Mass x Acceleration Third Law... For every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. Work = Force x Distance Power = Work Time Momentum = Mass x Velocity Period = Time num. of revolutions Ave. Speed = total dist total time Circumference = π Diameter = 2π radius Speed of Rotating Body = Circumference period Acceleration = (Final Velocity - Initial Velocity) time Torque = force x Lever Arm* * distance Ideal Mechanical Advantage = Actual Mechanical Advantage = Efficiency = Effort Distance Resistance Distance Resistance Force Effort Force Output Work Input Work today, you need to work on this packet. Any work you need to finish will be done on the ride home. Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

4 1. Record the following data on the trip to Valleyfair: Odometer reading - start of trip: Odometer reading - at Valleyfair: Time of departure (John Marshall): Time of arrival (Valleyfair): 2. How many kilometers did we travel? 3. Calculate the average velocity in miles/hour & kilometers/hour: 4. Estimate the temperature at departure, in degrees Celsius 5. When does the bus show positive acceleration? 6. When does the bus show negative acceleration? 7. List all the methods the bus driver uses to accelerate the bus: Observe the balloons in your bus. Watch as the bus turns left, turns right, speeds up, and slows down. Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

5 8. How does the air (human breath) balloon hanging from the ceiling behave when the bus: speeds up? slows down? turns right? turns left? 9. How does the helium (Mylar) balloon attached to the seat of the bus behave when the bus: speeds up? slows down? turns right? turns left?? 10. Explain why these two balloons behave differently (use sentences): Fermi, Enrico {fair -mee, ayn-ree -koh} Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

6 The Italian physicist Enrico Fermi was born on September 29, 1901, and died on November 28, He is best known as a central figure in the MANHATTAN PROJECT to build the first ATOMIC BOMB. Fermi received his doctorate from the University of Pisa in After working under Max Born at Gottingen and Paul Ehrenfest at Leiden, he returned to Italy in 1926 and became professor of theoretical physics at the University of Rome. In 1938, on the eve of World War II, he escaped to the United States. Fermi s early work on the statistical distribution of elementary particles led him to divide these atomic constituents into two groups, known as fermions and bosons, depending on their spin. This division is now accepted as standard. His subsequent work on radioactivity and atomic structure involved experiments on the production of artificial radioactivity by bombarding matter with neutrons, for which he received the 1938 Nobel Prize for physics. In collaboration with other eminent scientists, Fermi experimented with nuclear fission at Columbia University. This work culminated in the first sustained nuclear reaction, on December 2, 1942, at the University of Chicago. Further work at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory led to the construction of the ATOMIC BOMB. After the war, Fermi accepted a post at the newly established Institute for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago and continued his work in the field of neutron physics. Fermi was known for his interesting, open-ended questions that require the thinker to estimate, approximate, and draw conclusions based on science and common sense. Test your skill on the following Fermi Questions. Happy Thinking! F e r m i Q u e s t i o n s 1. Estimate the electrical bill to operate the park for the entire month of July How can the Guess Your Age & Weight person afford to be wrong so many times? 3. Roughly, how much garbage (in tons) does Valleyfair produce each day? 4. How many rolls of toilet paper are used daily (on the average)? 5. In which month does Valleyfair have the highest water bill? Why do you think so? 6. What did the Manhattan Project accomplish? 7. How old was Enrico Fermi when he died? 8.Who is pictured on the cover of this packet? CORKSCREW Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

7 The Corkscrew climbs to a height of 26 meters (85 ft), drops into a 360 degree vertical loop, followed by two giant "coil-like" spirals and ends with a 360-degree horizontal loop. The whole ride reaches a maximum speed of 86 km/hour (50 miles per hour). 1. What is the maximum speed reached in meters/hour? Use diagram for questions Where is potential energy the highest? (Circle the right answer) A B C 3. Why is the track banked on the 360-degree horizontal loop? 4. What would happen if the second loop of the Corkscrew were 30 meters high? (Hint: Remember the 1st hill is 26 m high.) 5. What would happen if the inertia created by the moving train were to be greater than the centripetal force exerted by the tracks? 6. When are you traveling fastest? At the top / bottom of the loop. (circle 1) 7. Where do you feel heavier and lighter in a loop? (Check the heavier or lighter) heavier lighter A. entering the loop B. the top of the loop C. leaving the loop When you are upside down in the Corkscrew, centripetal force is pushing you: Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

8 a. b. away from the center of the loop towards the center of the loop Suppose you carry a half-filled cup of H 2 O onto the Corkscrew. You always carry it upright, as you see it. What will happen to the water in the cup? EXPLAIN your answer, too! ART section: ART you glad you are here? Draw a picture of your English teacher: BUMPER CARS Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

9 1. What energy form is consumed in this ride? 2. How does this energy get to the cars? 3. The Bumper Cars can only work when you have a closed circuit. How do you close the circuit in your Bumper Car? 4. How do park employees get all the cars to stop at the same time at the end of the ride? 5. Describe what happens when a slow moving car is hit head on by a fast moving car. (Assume equal masses) The slow car will The fast moving car will 6. Which of Newton's three laws would allow you to calculate the force involved in the collision of the two cars? (refer to helping hand?) 7. What happens when a car with large people (large mass) collides head on with a car of small people (small mass)? Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

10 (Assume equal velocities) The car with small mass will - The car with large mass will - Which car has more momentum? 8. Why wouldn't you design a bumper car with very soft bumpers. TIME TO THINK: TIC-TAC-TOE: Play two games and record the winner: CAROUSEL Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

The antique carousel was purchased from the Excelsior Amusement Park that operated for five decades in the city of Excelsior, just west of Minneapolis.

11 The antique carousel was purchased from the Excelsior Amusement Park that operated for five decades in the city of Excelsior, just west of Minneapolis. It was hand-built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in It is a classic example of the hand-carved artistry of American carousel builders. 1. The prefix "deca" means 2. How many years was the carousel in the city of Excelsior? 3. Where would you need to sit if you wanted to experience the greatest speed? 4. Suppose that once the Carousel was turning, the motor was turned off and the Carousel continued to turn freely with no frictional loss. If you your friends, and all the other riders then moved from the outside horses to the empty inside horses, what affect would this have on the Carousel s motion? [When the mass moves ] 5. Suppose you drop a coin onto the Merry-Go-Round floor as you sit on one of the horses. Where does it land relative to you? Explain. 6. Now, suppose you stand near the edge of the Merry-Go-Round and drop a coin off the Merry-Go- Round. When the coin hits the ground, where is it relative to you? HIGH ROLLER COASTER Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

12 Valleyfair offers many exciting rides including a half-mile long wooden roller coaster, the High Roller. After challenging the first hill with a descent of nearly 21 meters (70 feet), it reaches speeds close to 97 km per hour (60 m/hr). The High Roller is a good example of energy interchange. Electrical energy input carries the train to the top of the first hill. A battle between gravitational potential and kinetic energy ensues resulting ultimately in heat producing friction from the braking system at the conclusion of the ride. The coaster train drops slightly as it leaves the station. At the bottom of the first hill, it is "grabbed" by a continuous chain drive which pulls you up to a maximum height of 21 meters (70 feet). At the top of the first hill, the chain releases the cars and for the rest of the ride all momentum is provided by gravity. Finally, you arrive back in the station, perhaps shaken, but otherwise healthy. All in all, you have traveled a total distance of 909 meters. Glad to be back, huh? 1. On the diagram above, select the most appropriate response. Maximum kinetic energy. Maximum gravitational potential energy. Where a machine makes the ride go instead of gravity. Where the track is banked. Weightlessness or zero "g" force zone. Highest "g" force zone. Kinetic energy so large, it needs to receive a mechanical acceleration (Think) Which arrow shows the direction of the ride? 2. What kind of energy pulls the train to the top of the first hill? 3. As you know, all things fall due to gravity. Why, then, do you feel like you are rising as you go over the hills? 4. How many times is mechanical energy added to this system during one complete ride? (Be careful!) Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

13 Physical Science Day Across 2 Meters measure this. 5 The older, but still fun roller coaster at Valleyfair. 6 A belt is necessary because of inertia. 7 On this ride, you will have a lot of collisions. 10 On this ride you will turn upside down as you spin. 11 Classic spinning amusement park ride. 12 Distance over time. 15 You'll rock back and forth and perhaps get sick. 18 You'll most definately get wet in this barrel ride down a river. 19 Time / number of revolutions. 20 The energy source needed for the bumper cars. 24 One of the tallest in America! 25 Momentum = x velocity Down 1 Unit of work in the metric system. 3 This ride is like the roller coaster, only you go upside down. 4 The of gravity pulls you down. 8 Distance over time. 9 Means moving energy. 13 Big screen theater at Valleyfair. 14 The merry-go-round. 16 Work / time 17 This ride is on the far end of the park. 19 At the top of the hill on the roller coaster, you have a great deal of energy 21 He invented motion pictures. 22 Law # of Newton says that for every action there is An object tends to stay at rest. Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

14 Valleyfair Physical Science Day Survey 1. What was your favorite ride? 2. Using your experience today at Valleyfair, complete the chart below: Ride # of times you rode Your Rating 1 (blah - 5 (WOW) Partner s Rating 1 (blah - 5 (WOW) Antique Cars Bumper Cars Carousel Chaos Corkscrew Excalibur Ferris Wheel Flying Trapeze High Roller Coaster Hydroblaster Looping Starship Mad Mouse Monster Power Tower Rip Tide Scrambler Steel Venom Super Cat Thunder Canyon Tilt=A=Wheel Trabant Wave Wild Thing Xtreme Swing Total Rides Today XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX 3. For which ride did you wait the longest in line? 4. Why do you think everyone wanted to ride that ride? 5. Rate the Physics Force Presentation. Leave This packet On The Bus! Complete Page 3 - Name, Teacher, Hour

Physics Is Fun. At Waldameer Park! Erie, PA

Physics Is Fun. At Waldameer Park! Erie, PA Physics Is Fun At Waldameer Park! Erie, PA THINGS TO BRING: Amusement Park Physics Bring a pencil Bring a calculator Don t forget to bring this assignment packet Bring a stop watch, a digital watch, or