Rollercoaster Project Pt. 1 Weekly Blog 2/11/18

Image: 

Summary: 
A model is an example, most typically a smaller version, to represent a system so you can understand how it works. A moedl rollercoaster is the perfect tool to understand and learn about potential energy, kinetic energy, and more. A system is a group of parts that work together to make a whole end result. The parts of the system that make up my groups rollercoaster include; two loops, two turns, and one hill. The system is arranged as seen above because the initail drop cannot count as a hill, meaning that there must be at least one turn before the hill so the marble can gain momentum to 'climb up'  the tubing. Potential energy is energy stored up and is waiting to be used, and is based on the position of an object, the elasticity or the chemical makeup. In this case, the marble has the most potential energy at the top of the roller coaster(beginning) because that is the highest point, meaning the height is the highest. This in turn effects the potential energy because the equation is mass times gravity times height.

S&EP-Using Mathematics:
Math is a large component of physics, and while working on the design brief for the rollercoaster project I began to see how each formula I was using tied into one another. For example, the equation for speed is distance over time. From there, you take speed and plug it into the equation for acceleration which is the change in speed over time. Then, you can use acceleration to determine force which is mass times acceleration. Next, you take mass from that equation and can use it to find the potential energy of an object because the equation is gravity times mass times height. Remember the equation for speed? You can take that and use it to find kinetic energy, along with mass. Although I didn't use every single equation this week I know this information will come in handy during this project and the ones to come.

XCC-Stability and Change:
When creating a rollercoaster from nothing but pool noodles and dowels, it's easy to see and interpret stability and change and the challenges they pose. For instance, with one slight move of the tubing, the rollercoaster is completely thrown off and no longer working. Through this, you can see that precision is key, as well as logic. An example of this would be the change in position of the track due to a turn. As you create a turn with the tubing, the stability changes and the marble tends to fall off the track. Along with this, I began to think of stability as not only the marble continuing to stay on the track, but how well is the rollercoaster going to stay up. This led to a more engineering side of the design process in which we used various materials to keep the rollercoaster stable (so there were no changes) and ensure that the marble would continuously move the same pace and end at the same spot.

Multiplier: 
This week I was a mutant, to be more specific a creator because I offered to do as much as I could for my team.

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