Mt. Olympus Roller Coasters
Tressa
Summer Fun
Over the summer, my aunt, uncle, brother, and I went to Mt. Olympus and Noah's Ark. My aunt and uncle needed help staining their fence, so my mom graciously volunteered my brother and I for the job. After five and a half long hours, we finished the fence (which looks pretty dang good if I do say so myself). My aunt surprised us by telling us she won't be paying us. She instead tells us she'll be paying us with a trip to Noah's Ark. My brother and I are, of course, super excited. So we set a date (July 6th and 7th) and go on our merry way. We went to Noah's Ark the first day and decided to go to Mt. Olympus the second day. At Noah's Ark, we went on the Black Anaconda, Time Warp, the 4-D theatre, and the Sidewinders. We rented a cabin in the woods and slept there. The next day, we packed our stuff and went to Mt. Olympus. We rode on Hades 360, Zeus, Pegasus, and Helios Go-Kart track.
The Science of it...
Connection #1
At Mt. Olympus, most of the roller coasters have drops that'll have your stomach doing flips. These big drops cause gravity to pull the cart down at a greater distance and speed. The potential energy that is built up going up the hill is called kinetic energy.
Sources: http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster3.htm
Connection #2: Inertia
On every wooden roller coaster you are jerked forward when the cart comes to a stop. When the cart comes to a stop, your body wants to keep moving forward, but your seatbelt and restraining bar won't let you. This is called inertia. It's also known as Newton's first law of motion which states that "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Sources: http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster3.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster4.htm
Look at Me!
This is the big drop on Hades 360 that takes you under the parking lot.
This is the beginning of the ride Pegasus.
I wonder...
- What qualifies someone to build a roller coaster?
- Is there a certain amount of kinetic energy that a roller coaster needs to get it going?
- Why does it feel like you're going to lift out of your seat when you go down big drops?
- How long does it take to make the blueprints and/or plan out a roller coaster?