IMPETUS: Engineering Workbook Model Roller Coaster Competition

IMPETUS: Engineering Workbook Model Roller Coaster Competition

School and Team Information This information can be completed at any time before the roller coaster competition School Name: Coach s Name: Clarkson Student Fellows who assisted with this project: Team Members Names and grade levels: Name of Roller Coaster: Preface This engineering workbook has been designed to supplement the annual Roller Coaster Design Competition as part of the Clarkson STEP academic year program. An engineering workbook will accompany each roller coaster that is submitted in the competition and will be included in the new scoring criteria. The objectives of the workbook are to (1) help provide a framework to the construction of your roller coaster by having check points, (2) promote a deeper understanding of the science and mathematics needed to construct a safe and thrilling ride, and (3) give a sense of ownership and a creative outlet to document your design process. So each month, there are some activities that will go along with the construction of your roller coaster. When your group completes the activities, you will bring the workbook with you to the Clarkson Visit and will receive a prize for your hard work! It is OK if you get behind some months and catch up later but we encourage you to complete all the activities. At the end of the year, the workbook will be on display and scored along with your roller coaster at the competition. We would like to thank Chris Carlton and Craig Wells for their efforts in helping create this workbook and hope you enjoy the activities. ~The Clarkson IMPETUS team

Getting Started Here we provide some overview of the competition. For more details and insight, see your roller coaster design brochure found here: http://web2.clarkson.edu/projects/impetus/curriculum.php Contest Description Roller coaster models built by teams of students will be entered in our end of the year IMPETUS Model Roller Coaster Building Competition. Materials may include wood, wire, string, twine, doweling, toothpicks, cardboard, construction paper, glue, tape or other low cost items. Commercially available roller coaster kits are not allowed, although ideas obtained while building them might profitably be incorporated in the final design. Roller coasters are called "gravity rides" for a good reason: once the coaster has been dragged to the top of the first hill and released, it is the force of gravity that keeps the coaster going all the way back to the station platform at the end of the ride. As the coaster goes through its twists, turns, rolls, and loops, it gains and loses its initial potential energy (supplied by dragging it up the first hill). Energy changes from potential into kinetic energy and back into potential energy. Since some of this initial energy is lost due to friction, the roller coaster can never rise as high as the first hill. The roller coaster you will design is also a "gravity ride". In the "Spirit of the Competition," the key ingredients are creativity and application of science principles. Doing a great job is encouraged over spending lots of money to complete the project. Scoring Categories Roller coasters will judged based on three categories as explained below: a. Technical Merit b. Theme and Creativity c. Most exciting to ride d. Engineering Workbook Model Roller Coaster Competition Rules (a) Size restrictions - the base must fit within a square footprint that is 75 cm x 75 cm. The overall track must fit within a rectangular box 75 cm x 75 cm x 100 cm high, including all decorations. (b) The model should be designed for a steel ball or glass marble. This means that the steel ball or glass marble when released from the top of the first hill by the judge will travel through the entire ride, and arrive at the bottom loading platform. (Note: for this contest, you will raise the steel ball or glass marble by hand from the loading platform to the top of the first hill to start the "ride".) (c) A ball must be provided by the team so that it can be tested on judging day. The ball must be either a glass marble of regular size or greater, or a steel ball that is 1 cm (1/2") in diameter or greater. (d) Magnets, electricity, springs and other forms of energy may not be used - this is a "gravity ride" only. These other sources of energy can be used for esthetics (i.e., background lighting). No electricity is provided in the contest area. (e) The starting position at the top of the first hill should be clearly marked. The steel ball or glass marble must end in a designated area or container. (h) The decision of the judges is final. Any coaster that violates the rules above or the spirit of the competition will be disqualified

To be completed for the October visit: Introduction to Energy NOTE: If you need to use outside resources (such as Internet, text books, etc.), just cite your source of information. Design Phase: In your own words, what is a roller coaster? What themes can you come up with to represent your team s interests and your roller coaster? What dimensions are teams limited to? Analysis Phase: Roller coasters are called "gravity rides" because once the coaster is at the top of the first hill and is released, it s the force of gravity that keeps the coaster moving throughout the ride. As the coaster experiences its twists, turns, rolls, and loops, it gains and loses its initial energy (supplied by dragging it up the first hill). As the coaster reaches the top and begins to move down the roller coaster track, that potential energy that was stored at the top of the hill is now being converted into energy. This is the energy of the object s motion. PE KE PE KE PE KE PE KE PE KE

What is Potential Energy? What is Kinetic Energy? Fun Facts: What is the tallest roller coaster in the U.S.? When and where was the first steel roller coaster built? Date Completed: Teacher Coach Signature Clarkson Team Signature Bring to the October Clarkson Visit for submission and prizes!

To be completed for the November visit: Velocity vs. Speed NOTE: If you need to use outside resources (such as Internet, text books, etc.), just cite your source of information. Design Phase: What is the final theme for your ride? What are some key features your ride will have? You should have a base from the Roller Coaster Starter Kit. Describe how you plan to build on the base. What are some items you think you will you need? If you would like your Clarkson fellow to bring some of these to you, have your teacher coach send in an email request!

Analysis Phase: Velocity and Speed both represent motion of an object, but they aren t the same. What is the difference between Velocity and Speed? Velocity (a vector quantity) and Speed (a scalar quantity) can be represented as: Speed = Distance/Time Velocity = Displacement/Time Since the equations nearly look the same, it comes down to distance and displacement setting them apart from each other. With that, what is the difference between Distance and Displacement? Last month, we discussed how potential and kinetic energy are related. Potential energy can be represented by mass, height, and gravity. By increasing any of these, you will have more potential energy. This can be represented mathematically below: PE grav = mass height gravity Units (Joules = Newton meters = kilograms meters meters/second 2 ) If you have an object that has a mass of 20 kg, height of 6 m, and gravity of 9.8 m/s 2 what is the potential energy? (Please show work below) Change the double the height to 12 m and the cut the mass in half to 10 kg. Is this potential energy greater than, less than, or the same as the potential energy from the previous problem? (Please show work below) Fun Facts: When and where is the oldest roller coaster in the U.S.? Date Completed: Teacher Coach Signature Clarkson Team Signature Bring to the November Clarkson Visit for submission and prizes!

To be completed for the January visit: Reexamine Design Phase: What material are you making your track out of? Please list below if you have added or removed new or older items. Distinguish next to them saying if they have been added/removed. If you need more items make arrangements to get them. What are the rules regarding magnets, electricity, springs and any other forms of energy? Analysis Phase: The entire potential of your roller coaster is dependent on the first hill and gravity. Why is the first hill on a roller coaster the highest hill on the entire ride? If the roller coaster doesn t have enough potential energy from the first hill, it may not have enough speed to finish the entire ride. What are some track components you could change that would increase the starting potential energy?

What is your marbles potential energy at the top of your highest hill? (Show all work below) Fun Fact: The Colossus roller coaster in Thorpe Park, England has the highest number of inversions in the world. Guess how many you think they have and then list below what the actual answer is. Your Guess (prior to looking ): Actual: Date Completed: Teacher Coach Signature Clarkson Team Signature Bring to the January Clarkson Visit for submission and prizes!

To be completed for the February visit: Centripetal Force and Timing Design Phase: What are your supports/walls made out of? In the space below, provide a rough sketch of what you think your finished roller coaster will be like. Do not worry about the decorations, just the shape of the track. Analysis Phase: When the ball encounters a loop, twist, or turn, it will experience what is called centripetal force. Centripetal force is a term used to describe the force an object goes through while moving along a curved path and is directed toward the center of the curved path (as seen in the example below). Below is the formula and a visual representation of how centripetal force can act on an object. Please describe gravitational and centripetal force.

When doing a loop on a roller coaster, if you didn t have a safety harness, what would keep you in your seat? Explain. After understanding more about forces acting upon an object for your coaster, you should have a better sense of how long your roller coaster will take. Please give a projected time of your coaster from start to finish. Fun Facts: What is the difference between a hyper coaster and a giga coaster? What is the fastest roller coaster in the world? Are there roller coasters that use magnetic brakes? What is your opinion on roller coasters having magnet brakes? Date Completed: Teacher Coach Signature Clarkson Team Signature Bring to the February Clarkson Visit for submission and prizes!

To be completed for the March visit: Scaled Drawings Design Phase: Consider creating a scaled blue print of a piece of your roller coaster. To do this, you will need to measure a key feature of your coaster, for example the height of the first hill and then determine how to make it fit into the grid below. From there, you can find a scale factor based on that part of your roller coaster to scale down the other pieces of your ride to try to have a fairly accurate drawing. Start by providing a rough sketch of a piece of your roller coaster here. On this sketch, label the main pieces by actually measuring your roller coaster. Next, it may help to create a table that explains what those measurements will be on the scaled coaster. (for example, if my fist hill is 25 inches tall and I want it to be 2 inches below, then my scale factor is 2/25 so I would multiply ALL the measurements by that value to see what their new value is in my blue print.

Analysis Phase: What is the height of the initial hill? What is the potential energy of my marble at that point? What is the height of the top of the loop? What is the potential energy of my marble at that point? What is the difference between the potential energy at the top of the hill and potential energy at the top of the loop? Using this information, do you think it is possible for the coaster to make the loop? Why? (Ignore energy lose from things like friction/drag) Fun Fact: What is the difference between a red out and a black out on a roller coaster? Date Completed: Teacher Coach Signature Clarkson Team Signature Bring to the March Clarkson Visit for submission and prizes!

To be completed for the April visit: Wrapping up Design Phase What is the length of your roller coaster track? How did you measure your track? Have you changed your theme, if so to what? As a returning question that you answered at the start of this, what is a roller coaster? Analysis Phase Explain how energy is converted from potential to kinetic throughout the track pieces for your particular roller coaster model. Where does potential/kinetic rise and fall for the ride?

Assessment of this project: Use the space below to describe the things that you enjoyed about this project. Use the space below to suggest improvements for this activity. Date Completed: Teacher Coach Signature Clarkson Team Signature Bring to the April Clarkson Visit for submission and prizes!

Appendix A: Judging Criteria Technical Score (25 pts) Longest Time (maximum 25 pts) Each model will be entitled to three runs. The longest time to go from the Start position to the Finish will be the official time for that model. Bonus Points for technical merit will be awarded for the following: (a) 5 points per vertical loop. A Vertical loop is defined as any time the "rider" is upside down on a loop of track that is within 10 of vertical. If the vertical loop is a portion of a corkscrew (helix), it counts as a vertical loop. Horizontal loops do not add bonus points. (b) 0-15 points openness. Awarded for degree of openness of track. (c) 0-10 points engineering. Awarded for novel engineering, including use of unusual materials, quality of workmanship, etc. Theme (creativity) Score (35 pts) The model roller coaster will be judged for its potential as a ride to be purchased by an amusement park. Selecting a theme is an essential element of a new ride. A score out of 35 will be awarded to each entry. Rider Enjoyment (35 pts) Each entry will be judged for rider enjoyment. A score out of 35 will be awarded to each entry. Engineering Workbook (25 pts) Each entry will be judged based on their Engineering process documented through the Engineering workbook. A score out of 25 will be awarded to each entry. Rubrics for calculating Scores Calculation of Longest Time Score The points awarded for time will be based on the maximum time taken. Points = 25 points x (your time / maximum time) Example (9 second ride): Points = 25 points x (9 sec / 15 sec) = 15 points Calculation of Bonus Points Bonus Points for technical merit will be awarded based on the following rubric: Vert. Loops 1 = 5 pts 2 = 10 pts 3 = 15 pts 4 = 20 pts Openness Mostly closed = 0 25% open = 5 pts 50% open = 10 pts >80% open = 15 pts Engineering Nothing unusual = 0 Some novel mat.= 3 pts Several novel mat. = 6 pts Many novel designs = 10 pts Calculation of Theme Points Theme points will be awarded based on the following rubric: Definite Theme No theme = 0 Some Theme =6 pts Theme throughout = 12 pts Excellent Theme = 20 pts Will attract visitors Won't attract = 0 Strong attraction = 10 pts Park could construct Hard to build = 0 Reasonable to build = 5 pts Calculation of Rider Enjoyment Points Rider Enjoyment points will be awarded based the following rubric: "Realistic" Ride Unrealistic = 0 Harsh = 2 pt Mostly Realistic = 6 pts Safe Ride = 10 pts High g-forces Mild ride = 0 Minor g-forces = 2 pt 1 good area = 6 pts >1 area = 10 pts Unexpected thrills None = 0 Minor thrills= 1 pt 1 good one = 3 pts >1 good one = 5 pts Would you want to ride it? No Way = 0 Definitely Yes = 10 pts