Name: Group Members: Per: Due Date: Roller Coaster Design Introduction: The roller coaster is a great example of conversions between potential energy (stored energy) and kinetic energy (the energy of motion). As the cars are being pulled up to the top of the first hill, they are acquiring potential energy. The chain that pulls them up the hill works against the force of gravity. At the top of the hill, the cars' potential energy is at its maximum. When the cars start down the other side, this potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. The cars pick up speed as they go downhill. As the cars go through the next uphill section, they slow down. Some of the kinetic energy is now being converted to potential energy, which will be released when the cars go down the other side. Scenario: Your engineering team has just been selected to design a new roller coaster for your town s amusement park. Using the materials provided, you must create a mock-up to pitch to the hiring company. Keep in mind your team is competing against others for the winning design. The design problem is very open-ended, so as long as you follow the criteria outlined below you will be eligible to win. To make your roller coaster track, your team will tape lengths of cardstock paper parts together, end to end. The joint between the two pieces should be as smooth as possible. Remember, you want to make the track that lasts the longest. You can add curves, loops, spirals, funnels, camelback sections, and whatever your imagination can come up with just remember to follow the criteria closely! Materials: Scissors Glue Tape Roller coaster part templates Foam board base Procedure: Using only the materials provided, design and build a rollercoaster with the longest run time. Criteria: Roller coaster must: Have a name and theme Be at least 3 stories high Include a safe stop feature o a gradual stop lasting at least 3 seconds Include a feature your team invented/designed.
o anything that hasn t been provided to you (like a jump/launch ramp) Include at least 9 thrill features such as loops, jumps, spirals, etc. Columns, beams, diagonal braces, straight track and turns DO NOT count. o At least 1 funnel - no more than 3. o At least 1 loop. Be stable not supported or tweaked during runs. Hold/support the marble from start to finish (marble cannot fall off or get stuck at any point). Scenery that supports your theme and roller coasters in general. o Must include a ticket booth and line entrance. o Other things to think about are cameras, lights, signs, etc. Extra Credit: You are also competing for extra credit points to be added to your overall score. Winners will receive an extra 10 points! This will make it possible to receive more than a 100% for the project. This is done by winning one or more of the following competitions: Best Scenery Lots of quality scenery covering the entire coaster and platform. Spending money on fancy scenery will not automatically make you a winner. Simple but clever, well executed designs show more creativity especially when they support the name and theme of your coaster! Best Theme What s the name of your roller coaster? Does your scenery support this theme? Does the design support your theme? Is there a coolness or cleverness factor to your name? Most creative design feature Looking for something different, something that makes you say, That s cool! You may use only the provided paper for this. Most complex design. Wow - that is a long, exhilarating roller coaster! Looking at the loops, twists, dips, turns, and overall flow of the coaster.
Cut your build time by more than 50% if you follow these guidelines and GET ORGANIZED! Agree on the coaster s design. Sketch it out on one of the following sheets. It does not need to be fancy. These sheets provide you with a way of communicating with your partner what could be done. Drawing with a pencil will make it easier to make design changes. There is a 3D drawing sheet and a piece of graph paper. Use one or both of these. Use he graph paper to draw an overhead view or a side view. Label each piece on the pictures. This will aide in getting organized later. Having trouble envisioning the track s design? Cut the base to the maximum size 30 x 12. Make 6 tall columns and begin to place them around the base and discuss what will happen on your roller coaster. Look to www.joyrides.com or search YouTube to get some possible ideas. Decide how many of each piece you will need to construct. You need to have drawn the plan to get a good guess as to how many of each piece and which pieces you will need, Use the duty sheet that is with this packet to list what you need and who is to make. You could make the pieces separately and then get together later to construct the coaster. Decide on who is making which pieces. Make the pieces of the track. Make a list with names by each item that person is making. I have provided this list with this file/collection of handouts. Build the structure first. Begin to add the supports to the base. Add the diagonal pieces on the base. Then add the beams. Add the track and other pieces. You will also need shelves. To set the track on. View the movie about tape tricks. This will help you tape some odd pieces to structure.
Track Plan: Below is a 4 story high roller coaster frame (1 higher than the minimum). Don t forget to draw in (include) center supports and cross supports to hold up the track. Draw the track as a line. Use a pencil. Your supports do not need to take up the whole base. You could make it narrower. If your roller coaster is going to be more than 4 stories, continue the design on the next page.
Plan of action & Assigned Responsibilities:
Rubric: The rubric below will help you stay on task and remain focused on what is important. The best score you can get is a 24 out of 24 PLUS any extra credit awarded. Circle what score you think your team deserves for each category. 3 points 2 points 1 points 0 point Use of tape Clean joinery, absolutely no excessive tape or tape nests. Small amount of excessive tape, no tape nests Clear misuse of tape. Excessive tape nests. Total waste of materials and lack of care. Construction The structure is neat, attractive, and has no crooked beams or columns. The structure is neat and appealing, but 1-2 details could have been refined for a more visually pleasing product. The structure is neat and appealing, but 3-4 details could have been refined for a more visually pleasing product. Many details need refinement for a strong and attractive product. Clear lack of care during construction. Modification and Testing Clear evidence of testing and refinements based on daily observations and engineering notebook entries. Some evidence of testing and refinement. Documented examples in engineering notebook. Little evidence of testing and refinement. No documentation. No evidence of testing and refinement. Criteria (see above) ALL criteria has been met. Missing 1 of the criteria. Missing 2 criteria. Missing 3+ criteria. Over-all Quality The overall quality is exceeding proficiency. The over-all quality is proficient. The over-all quality is approaching proficient. The over-all quality is well below proficient. Safe Stop Effectiveness Marble comes to a safe stop on 1 piece of straight track. Stops on more than one piece of straight track Marble rolls off end track every time - too much kinetic energy. Marble doesn t reach end of roller coaster.
Theme Has a clear, cohesive theme. Theme is unrecognizable. Theme needs to be explained to tourists. Theme is far from being developed. No theme at all. Scenery Theme-supported scenery is clearly included and identifiable. Scenery is lacking, or is unrecognizable. Its purpose/function needs to be explained. x Scenery is nonexistent. Time Management Always on task, never wasted time. Roller coaster finished early/on time. Periodically reminded to stay on task or refocus/settle down. Finished roller coaster on time. Fooled around, distracted others, wasted a lot of time. Didn t finish roller coaster on time. Clear lack of effort. Score = Extra Credit = Overall score / 24