Roller Coaster Engineering PDF Manual

Experiment Manual Roller Coaster Engineering Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | +  49 (0) 711 2191-0 | www.kosmos.de Thames & Kosmos, 89 Ship St., Provi...

Experiment Manual Roller Coaster Engineering Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | +  49 (0) 711 2191-0 | www.kosmos.de Thames & Kosmos, 89 Ship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com Thames & Kosmos UK LP, 20 Stone St., Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 3HE, UK | 01580 713000  | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk  KIT CONTENTS Good to know! Do you have any questions or are you missing any parts? Our tech support team will be happy to help you! USA: [email protected] or 1-800-587-2872 What’s inside your experiment kit: UK: [email protected] or 01580 713000 1 2 3 4 5 6 24x 18x 42x 16x 20x 125x 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 3x 24x 4x 15 16 17 18 19 1x 8x 8x 1x 1x Checklist: No. Description Quantity Item No. No. Description Quantity Item No. 1 Track 24 7071-W10-A1R 11 Car coupler 2 7071-W10-H5D 2 5-way rod connector 18 7071-W10-B1G 12 Hinge 3 7061-W85-F1W 3 6-way rod connector 42 7071-W10-C1G 13 2-to-1 converter 24 7061-W10-G1W 4 Track support 16 7071-W10-D1W 14 Button pin 4 7061-W10-W1D 5 Frame strut 20 7071-W10-E1S 15 Part separator tool 1 7061-W10-B1Y 6 Frame rod 125 7071-W10-F1S 16 Screw 8 M20-44 7 Car cover 2 7071-W10-G1TP 17 Wheel 8 7071-W85-A 8 Car body 2 7071-W10-G2TP 18 Launcher track 1 7071-W10-I5R 9 Car chassis 2 7071-W10-H1D 19 Launcher 1 7071-W85-B 10 Car launch trigger 2 7071-W10-H4D Side A The parts not included in the kit are marked in italics Side B in the YOU WILL NEED lists. Tip! Use the part you will also need: separator tool to help Small Phillips-head screwdriver, large coins you pry apart tight (e.g., quarters), adhesive tape parts, like the button pins on the cars. 3  Roller Coaster Engineering TABLE OF CONTENTS Ti p Kit Contents.......................................Inside front cover Additional information Table of Contents and Other Information.................... 3 can be found in the check it out sections on pages 9, 19, 25, and the ASSEMBLY STARTS ON PAGE 3 Inside back cover. Introduction..................................................... 2 Train Assembly................................................. 3 How to Use the Launcher................................... 4 Experiments 1 and 2.......................................... 5 Varying the launch force and mass on a straight flat track Check It Out: Newton’s Laws.............................. 9 Experiments 3 and 4.........................................10 Changing the launch height and mass on an inclined track Experiments 5–8..............................................13 Varying the slope and stability of the track Experiments 9–12.............................................18 Experiments with a vertical loop in the track Dear parents and adults, Check It Out: G-Forces.....................................19 This experiment kit offers your child a fun introduction Experiment 13.................................................22 to physics and engineering through the topic of roller Exploring energy with varying heights of a hill in the track coasters! Before starting the experiments, read through Experiment 14.................................................23 the instruction manual together with your child and discuss the safety information. Check to make sure the Calculating the average speed of the train models have been assembled correctly. Assist your Experiment 15.................................................24 child with the experiments, especially with reading the Investigating the effect of friction on the train assembly diagrams and putting pieces together that may require more dexterity or hand strength than the Check It Out: A Real Roller Coaster Engineer....25 child currently possesses. This manual touches on some fairly advanced physics concepts —help interpret Experiments 16 and 17......................................26 them for your child as best you can, but also know that Experimenting with a complete circuit track your child is learning simply by playing with the models Experiments 18–20...........................................32 and observing how the roller coaster train behaves in each experiment. We hope you and your child have a lot Three challenges for you to try on your own of fun with the experiments! Check It Out: Cool Coasters.........Inside Back Cover WARNING! !! Not suitable for children under 3 years. V i d eos Scan this QR code to see a video of each of the We suggest you start at the beginning of the manual and do the experiments in order , for maximum learning! Choking hazard — small parts may be If you want to swallowed or inhaled. Strangulation roller coaster hazard — long flexible tracks may jump to the experiments in complete become wrapped around the neck. Keep the packaging and instructions action! roller as they contain important information. coaster pictured on Keep your hands, face, hair, and all the front of other parts of the body out of the way of the moving train. the box, go to page 31. 625417-02-070521 1  Cool! ler Co a s t e r l Let’s get rolling ! o R ENGINEERING What do roller coaster engineers need to know in order to design thrilling — and safe — rides? It’s all about physics! Roller coasters are designed by teams with a range of expertise, including structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers. One thing you may not realize when you’re potential energy, including electromagnetic zooming around a roller coaster track at high and elastic potential energy. These coasters speeds is that the train you’re on has no engine. can reach greater speeds than those with a To make riders scream, roller coaster designers conventional “lift hill.” This kit includes a rely on one very important force: gravity. spring-powered launcher to create an initial On traditional coasters, a train climbs a lift burst of speed. hill to gain gravitational potential energy. In this kit, you will build many The higher the train climbs, the more energy it different model roller stores up for the rest of the ride. When the coasters, from simple to train begins its descent, potential energy is complex, and conduct converted into kinetic energy — the energy of twenty experiments motion. The more kinetic energy the car has, to test the physics the faster its speed. When the train climbs the principles involved coaster’s next hill, or zooms through a vertical in engineering loop, kinetic energy is converted back into awesome potential energy. roller coasters. Modern roller coasters accelerate trains with mechanisms that create other forms of 2  Roller Coaster Engineering TRAIN ASSEMBLY 1 7 8 9 10 11 14 16 17 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x 4x 8x 8x x2 Rounded 2 front 3 x2 Pay close 4 attention Red: Assemble first Blue: Assemble second to the Front orientation of all the parts here. The trigger hinges Headlights toward the Note: The rounded side of the car cover Front coupler. and the headlights face forward. 5 6 7 Front Front 8 Back Pay attention to the direction of the train, because the launch trigger on the bottom of the car only hinges in one direction and it must be facing the correct direction in order to trigger the spring launcher. 3  HOW TO USE THE LAUNCHER 1 The launcher starts out with the spring uncompressed. Handle the launcher carefully! Spring The loaded spring stores a lot of energy and the launch rod and spring Launch rod compressor bar can move very quickly when the spring is discharged. Handle Spring compressor bar When you are not actively using it and during assembly, keep the launcher unloaded with the spring uncompressed. 2 Holding the launcher by its handles, push the spring compressor bar in, compressing the spring, until the launch rod snaps into place. Top view Click Top view Side view Click 3 Slide the spring compressor bar back out. Now the launcher is ready to launch the train! Top view 4 To launch the train, first make sure both the launcher and the train are facing the correct direction onto the track. The curved front of the train must be facing the direction in which you want the train to be launched. Give the train a push so it rolls backward toward the launch rod. When it makes contact with the launch rod, the spring will release and propel the car forward. Make sure to keep your hands, face, hair, and all other parts of the body out of the way of the moving train. You can also let gravity pull the car down PUSH Curved front the track toward the Launcher BACKWARD launcher. DIRECTION IN WHICH THE TRAIN WILL BE LAUNCHED 4  Roller Coaster Engineering MODEL FOR EXPERIMENTS 1 AND 2 Ti p 1 2 3 4 5 6 A difficulty ranking is given for each model at the top of its assembly instructions page: 7x 18x 18x 9x 10x 68x Easy Medium Hard 13 18 19 First, build the frame. Then, attach the track to the frame, completing the model. Finally, conduct the 9x 1x 1x Train experiments using the model you built. 1 x3 Side view Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second 2 Side view 3 x3 Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second 5  MODEL FOR EXPERIMENTS 1 AND 2 4 5 Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second Side view 6 Ti p As a general rule, you don’t have to follow the assembly exactly as shown. If YOUR MODEL IS CLOSE TO THE MODEL SHOWN, THE EXPERIMENT WILL STILL WORK. IN OTHER WORDS, you CAN IMPROVISE A LITTLE when building the models. 6  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering 7 8 1 x7 18 x1 Red arrows x9 8 Red: assemble first Ti p Blue: assemble second Fo r th e most stab ili ty du rin g yo ur ex pe rim en ts , ta pe th e fr am e to th e flo or ! Done! Now try the experiments on the next page. 7  EXPERIMENT 1 EXPERIMENT 2 Force and distance Changing the mass How does changing the launch force affect how far a roller How does changing the mass of the train affect how far it coaster train travels? travels? You will need You will need – Model for experiments 1 and 2 – Model for experiments 1 and 2 6x Coins – Assembled train – Assembled train – Part separator tool Here’s how – 6 Large coins (e.g., quarters) 1. After you have assembled the model and train following the Here’s how instructions on the previous pages, place the 1.  Slide the train onto the track. model on the floor with empty space in front of it into which the train can be launched. Slide the train onto the 2. Pull the spring compressor bar back until it clicks into track, with its front facing forward, so the bottom the notch in the launcher. wheels are below the track and the top wheels are 3. With your finger, flick the train backward, toward the above the track. It will roll smoothly. launcher to launch it. How far does the train travel? 2. Roll the train past the launch rod. If the train does not 4. Take the train off the track. Using the part separator pass the launch rod easily, it is facing the wrong tool, remove the button pins on the sides of both car direction. Remove the train from the track, rotate it covers, then remove the car covers. around and load it onto the track again. 5. Place three large coins (e.g., quarters) in each car. 3. With one hand, pull back the spring compressor bar to compress the spring inside the launcher to the midpoint. 6. Replace the car covers and button pins on both cars. 4. Still holding the spring compressor bar, roll the train 7. Launch the train again. What do you notice? backward until the car launch trigger meets the resistance of the launch rod. W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? 5. Release the spring compressor bar. How far did the You probably observed that the lighter train goes train travel? faster and farther than the heavier train. The 6. Put the train on the track in front of the launcher again. acceleration of an object depends on two things, force and mass. According to Newton’s second 7. Now pull the spring compressor bar back until it clicks law, the acceleration of an object is directly into the notch in the launcher and locks into place. proportional to the net force and inversely 8. With your finger, flick the train backward toward the proportional to its mass. As you saw in experiment launcher. How far did the train travel this time? 1, when you put a greater force on an object, it has a larger acceleration. Whereas, when you add W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? more mass to an object, as in experiment 2, it has a lower acceleration. Inside your launcher is a spring. When compressed, If you conduct these experiments several times, springs store elastic potential energy. The more a you might see slightly different results. There are spring is compressed, or squished, the more elastic many variables here, including the force from the potential energy is stored in the spring. When the launcher. If you flick the train at the launcher with compressed spring inside the launcher is released, it puts more force, it will travel further than if you flick a force on the train, causing the train to accelerate — the train with a small amount of force. in other words, to increase in speed moving forward. 8  Roller Coaster Engineering ?! CHECK IT OUT I love roller coasters! Newton’s Laws In 1687, Isaac Newton outlined these three fundamental laws that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. n e w to n ’ s f i r s t l aw An object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Imagine you are sitting in a roller coaster car waiting for the ride to start. Suddenly, the coaster speeds forward. What do you feel? You might feel like your body is being pushed backward into the seat cushion. But there’s no force actually pushing you back. So what is going on? According to Newton’s first law, your body has inertia — a tendency to resist any change in motion. Because it starts at rest, your body will remain at rest until it is acted upon by a force. The seat behind you pushes your body forward so that you move along with the car. While this feels like you are being pushed backward, it is actually inertia that you are feeling! n e w to n ’ s s e c o n d l aw n e w to n ’ s t h i r d l aw The net force on an object is equal to its All forces come in pairs. For every action mass times its acceleration. there is an equal and opposite reaction. You saw in experiments 1 and 2 how Newton’s As you sit in your roller coaster seat, second law applies to roller coasters. Newton’s your body applies its force of gravity, or second law is often written as: weight, onto the seat. The seat applies Fnet = ma an equal and opposite force on your body, which is called the normal force. If you divide both sides by mass, so that Engineers rely on this law to send acceleration is by itself, you get: rockets into space. Thrusters burn fuel Fnet which creates a downward force on the a = ____ air below the rocket. The air then m provides an upward force on the rocket, pushing it out toward space. Acceleration is directly Acceleration is inversely proportional to net force proportional to mass (Fnet is in the numerator), so (m is in the denominator), if Fnet increases, acceleration so if mass increases, will also increase. acceleration will decrease. 1 2 9  MODEL FOR EXPERIMENTS 3 AND 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 13 10x 18x 28x 9x 11x 89x 11x Train 1 2 x5 3 4 5 Remove this rod. For the lower frame, use the model you built for experiments 1 and 2 (steps 1–7). 10  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering 6 1 x10 Red arrows x9 13 13 7 8 10 Done! Now try the experiments on the next page. 11  EXPERIMENT 3 EXPERIMENT 4 Changing the height Mass and speed How does changing the starting height affect the speed of How does changing the mass affect the speed of the train? the train? You will need You will need – Model for experiments 3 and 4, including train – Model for experiments 3 and 4, 6x Coins including train Here’s how – Part separator tool 1. Bring the train to position 1 on the track as shown in the – 6 Large coins (e.g., quarters) diagram below. Release the train to roll down the track. How far does the train travel? Here’s how 2. Bring the train to position 2 and release. How far does 1. Bring the train to the highest position on the track and the train travel compared to when you released it from release it. How far does the train travel? position 1? 2. Place three large coins in each car, as you did in 3. Bring the train to position 3 and release. What do you Experiment 2. notice about the relationship between the height at 3. Bring the train to the highest position on the track and which the train is released and the distance it travels release again. How far does the train travel compared across the floor? to when it was empty? Position 1 Keep the coins inside the cars for the next experiment. W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? Potential energy is directly proportional to mass, so the heavier train has more potential energy at the top of the hill and therefore more kinetic energy (and Position 2 speed) at the bottom of the hill. Because of its mass, the heavier train also has more momentum, so it will require more force to stop it. The only forces stopping the train are friction between the wheels and the track and air resistance, which is another form of friction. Because these stopping forces are similar for all of the trains, it will take more time to Position 3 stop a heavier train. W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? The higher off the ground an object is, the more gravitational potential energy it has. According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be created or destroyed. As the train moves downhill, the potential energy at the top of the hill is converted into kinetic energy. The higher a train starts, the more kinetic energy — and therefore speed — the train will have at the bottom of the hill. Trains moving faster at the bottom of the hill have more momentum, meaning they will travel a longer distance before stopping. 12  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering x10 BASE FRAME FOR EXPERIMENTS 5–8 2 3 5 6 1 18x 38x 12x 110x x2 2 x 10 x2 3 x2 4 For the lower frame, use the model you built for experiments 1 and 2 (steps 1–7). Frame done! Now attach the track and try the experiment on the next page. 13  EXPERIMENT 5 #7071 M3 Ex5 1 4 13 Momentum and height 12x 9x 13x Train Frame (p. 13) Can a train with more momentum climb up to a higher point? 1 You will need 1 x12 – Parts pictured to the right, including the base frame from the previous page and train filled with coins 13 – Part separator tool 13 Here’s how 13 Red arrows 13 1. Complete the model by attaching the track to the frame as shown. x9 2. Bring the train to the highest position on the track, and then release. What height does the train reach on the other side of the track? 3. Remove all of the coins from the cars. 4. Bring the train to the highest position on the track again and release. What height does the train reach compared to when it was empty? How does this result compare to what you noticed in experiment 4? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second No matter their mass, all trains reach the same height on the other side of the ramp. You saw in experiment 4 that a heavier train has more potential 2 energy at the top of the ramp than a lighter train, and thus more kinetic energy at the bottom of the ramp. As a train rises up the ramp on the other side, its kinetic energy is converted back into potential energy. It takes more energy to lift trains with more mass. As it turns out, mass doesn’t make any difference in this experiment! 14  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering EXPERIMENT 6 1 4 12 13 Varying slopes 10x 3x 2x 9x Train Frame (p. 13) How does changing the slope affect the acceleration of the train? You will need 1 – Parts pictured to the right Here’s how 1. Complete the model by attaching the track to the frame as shown. Remove these 4 rods. 2. Release the train from the top of the track. What height does the train reach on the other side of the track? 3. Remove two pieces of track and set 13 13 up the track with a steeper slope, as 13 shown here. Test the train. 13 13 4. Remove two more pieces of track 13 and retest. What do you notice 13 13 about the heights the train reaches Green arrows Red arrows each time? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? x2 x1 The potential energy of trains starting from the same height will be equal no matter the slope of the track. In other words, the slope of the ramp does not affect the train’s motion. 2 1 x10 1 x10 13 13 13 Red: assemble first 13 Blue: assemble second 13 13 3 4 13 13 1 x6 1 x8 13 13 13 13 13 13 15 13 13  EXPERIMENT 7 1 4 12 13 Stability How does securing the track to the frame influence the distance traveled by the car? 10x 3x 2x 9x Train Frame (p. 13) Here’s how 1. Rebuild the model from experiment 6, step 2 1 and repeat this experiment step. Now, remove the two track support pieces at the bottom of the track. Bring the train to the top of the track again and release. What do you notice? Did the train make it as high on the ramp as when the track was secured at the bottom? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? Remove The train on the “floppy” track will give more of its energy to the track itself, causing movement in the track. This robs energy from the train, so it does not have as much energy to make it up the ramp on the other side. Engineers spend a lot of time thinking about how to connect parts (like the track and the frame). Loose connections are not just annoying, they can be dangerous. Roller coaster tracks that are not properly bolted will vibrate excessively, and cause parts to wear more quickly, and possibly break. Over the course of a roller coaster ride, energy changes from potential energy (PE) to kinetic energy (KE) and back again several times. EXPERIMENT 8 You can use equations to figure out the energy of the train at a given point on the ride. PE = mgh m: mass Energy conserved g: acceleration due to gravity on Earth (9.8 m/s2) h: height above ground KE = ½mv 2 v: velocity Is all energy actually conserved? Here’s how If all energy is conserved, and there is no energy lost to friction, then the sum of potential and kinetic energy at any point on the track will remain constant. 1. Use the model from experiment 6, step 2. Bring the train to the top of the track and release the PEstart + KEstart = PEfinish + KEfinish train without pushing it. Does the train make it up to the top of the other hill? Now, bring the However, as you see in experiment 8, all of the energy is not conserved. Some is train back to the starting position and push the dissipated — or spent — because of friction. A more accurate equation would be: train down the hill. Can you give the train just PEstart + KEstart = PEfinish + KEfinish + Edissipated enough extra energy with your push to make it to the top of the ramp on the other side? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? Theoretically, if all energy was actually conserved, all of the train’s potential energy would be converted into kinetic energy and then back into potential energy and the train would make it up to the top of the other hill. The train falls short of making it to the top of the other hill because in reality, a little bit of energy is “lost” to friction. If you successfully push the train just enough so that it stops at the top of the other hill, in a sense you’ve replaced the exact amount of energy that is lost to friction throughout the train’s journey. 16  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering BASE FRAME FOR EXPERIMENTS 9–13 2 3 5 6 1 18x 36x 13x 111x Red: assemble first 2 Blue: assemble second x3 3 For the lower frame, use the model you built for experiments 1 and 2 (steps 1–7). 4 Frame done! Now attach the track and try the experiment on the next page. 17  EXPERIMENT 9 1 4 12 13 Looping the loop 14x 12x 2x 15x Train Frame (p. 17) From what height do you need to drop the train so it makes it around the vertical loop? You will need A. 1 1 x14 – Parts pictured to the right 13 Here’s how B. 1. Complete the model by attaching the track to the frame as shown and tilting it upright. 2. Release the train from different heights until C. 13 you find the minimum height from which the 13 train successfully completes the loop. Red arrows Green arrows W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? x10 x2 You just found the minimum speed A. required for the train to complete the Attach track vertical loop. This is the speed segment A. required to make sure the train can keep moving in a circle at the very top of the loop. Go on to the next page for more information on the physics of g-forces in vertical loops. Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second Attach track segment B. B. Attach track 2 segment C. C. Connect segments A and C with part 13. Red: assemble first Connect segments B Blue: assemble second and C with part 13. 18  Roller Coaster Engineering ?! CHECK IT OUT G-Forces When you fly around a roller coaster and feel like your stomach is floating up toward your throat, or like you’re being squished into your seat by a giant weight, you are experiencing g-forces. What’s going on? You are being thrown around by forces that are even greater than Earth’s gravity. Engineers talk about forces with measurements called g-forces. One “g” equals the amount that Vertical loops are designed in the shape of upside-down teardrops to reduce the earth’s gravity pulls on the body, or an g-forces experienced by riders. acceleration of 9.8 m/s2. Forces cause accelerations (see Newton’s second law on page 9), so you can Engineers need to think a lot about measure force by measuring acceleration. g-forces when designing roller coasters, Right now, if you are standing still on the because high g-forces can be dangerous for ground, you are experiencing a g-force of 1 g. humans. One of the biggest places riders That’s because the ground pushes up on you with experience changes in g-forces is in the the exact amount of force with which Earth’s vertical loop, also known as a loop-the- gravity pulls you down. Oddly, g-forces measure all loop or loop-de-loop. For the train to move the forces except gravity acting on an object. So, if in a loop, there must be a force pushing you free-fall in a vacuum (meaning there’s no air toward the center of the circle, called the resistance, and only gravity is acting on you), you centripetal force — otherwise the train experience 0 g. When you experience a g-force would continue moving in a straight line, greater than 1, you feel heavier, like something is (see Newton’s first law on page 9). As a pushing you down, whereas, when you experience a roller coaster train rises up into a loop, the g-force closer to 0, you will have the sensation of track provides the centripetal force, pushing weightlessness. up on the train to get it moving in a circle. As you will see in experiment 12, g-force is examples of g-forces at its maximum at the base of the loop. Engineers can reduce the number of g’s experienced by riders at the base of loops 0 g Free-falling through space by designing clothoid loops instead of circular loops. If the radius of the curve is 1 g Standing on the ground larger at the base, then the required centripetal acceleration — and thus 5 g What an average human can handle g-forces — will be lower. 6.3 g Highest g-force on roller coaster today (Tower of Terror in Johannesburg South Africa) 12 g G-force on riders on vertical loop at Coney Island’s Flip Flap Railway built in 1898 (closed 1901). 19  MODELS FOR EXPERIMENTS 10–12 1 4 12 13 18 19 17x 13x 3x 18x 1x 1x Train Frame (p. 17) 1 2 1 x17 18 x1 A. Red arrows x11 3 Remove A. B. B. C. 13 13 Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second 13 Attach track D. 13 segments A 13 Green arrows and B. 13 x3 Restart from step 3. 4 C. Attach track D. segment C. 6 Attach track Red: assemble first segment D. Blue: assemble second Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second 1 4 12 13 18 19 1 4 12 13 18 19 1 4 12 13 18 19 1 4 12 13 18 19 5 1 4 12 13 18 19 17x 13x 3x 18x 1x 1x 71 Train 4 12 13 18 1 17x 13x 3x 18x 1x 1x 17x Train 13x 3x 18x 1x 1x 17x 13x 3x 18x 1x 1x Train 17x 13x 3x 18x 1x 1x 17x 13x 3x 18x 1x 1 Remove Done! Small loop Try experiment 10. Done! Large loop 20 Try experiment 11.  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering EXPERIMENT 10 EXPERIMENT 12 Speed and the loop The shape of the loop How does changing the train’s speed affect whether it What shape of the loop is most effective? makes it around the full loop? You will need You will need – Various loop models, including the one pictured below – Small loop model from previous page Here’s how Here’s how 1. Compare and contrast the performance of the train in 1. Pull back the spring compressor bar to the midpoint, the small loop, large loop, and clothoid-shaped loop then roll the train backward until the car launch trigger (pictured below). You can also try out your own loop meets the resistance of the launch rod. designs. What shape of the loop is most effective? 2. Release the spring compressor. Does the train make it around the loop? Clothoid-shaped loop 3. Put the train on the track in front of the launcher. Pull the spring compressor bar back until it clicks into the notch in the launcher. With your finger, flick the train backward toward the launcher. Does the train make it around the loop this time? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? Just like in experiment 9, you see that a train needs enough speed to make it around the loop. W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? You might have noticed that the train exits the clothoid- shaped loop with more speed than the circular-shaped EXPERIMENT 11 loop. A clothoid shape — which looks like an upside- down teardop — is the most effective shape for a vertical loop. When you change the shape of the loop, you are A larger loop varying the radius of imaginary circles at the top and bottom of the loop. This changes the amount of Does changing the height of the loop affect whether the centripetal force required to keep the train moving in a train makes it around the loop? loop, because centripetal force is inversely proportional to the radius of a curve (ac = v2/r). You will need Clothoid loop – Large loop model from previous page Rtop Here’s how Rbottom Rbottom 1. Repeat step 3 of experiment 11 above, but using the model with the larger loop. Does the train make it The radius at the bottom of the clothoid loop (Rbottom) is much larger around the loop this time? than the radius at the top of the clothoid loop (Rtop). W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? When a roller coaster train first enters the loop, gravity pulls down, away from the center of the circle, and thus The train probably didn’t make it around the larger loop. As the opposite the direction of centripetal acceleration. The train rises up into the loop, it gains potential energy and loses normal force from the track must therefore work twice as kinetic energy. For a train to make it all the way around the hard to keep the coaster moving in a loop. If the radius of loop, it needs enough kinetic energy at the beginning of the the curve is larger, then the centripetal acceleration launch to at least match the potential energy the train has at its required will be lower. Trains do not need to be highest point in the loop. The higher the loop, the more kinetic traveling as fast to make it around a clothoid loop. energy, and therefore speed, is required. 21  MODEL FOR EXPERIMENT 13 3 5 6 1 4 12 13 18 19 6x 2x 13x 11x 7x 2x 13x 1x 1x Train Frame (p. 17) 1 2 3x 4 3 Remove 5 1 x9 18 x1 6 A. Attach track A. segments A and B. B. Red arrows C. x5 B. 13 13 Green arrows 13 13 Red: assemble first x2 Blue: assemble second 7 C. 8 Attach track segment C. Short hill Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second 4 12 13 18 19 4 1 12 13 4 12 18 13 18 19 19 Done! 118x 41x 12 13 Try 19experiment 13, step 1. 13x 3x 1x 18 Train 22 13x 17x3x 18x13x 3x 1x 18x 1x 1x Train1x Train  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering EXPERIMENT 13 EXPERIMENT 14 Climbing the hills Calculating speed What is the tallest hill the train can make it over? Calculate the average speed of the train. You will need You will need – 3 Hill models from previous page and below – Model pictured below – Measuring tape, calculator, stopwatch Here’s how Here’s how 1. Launch the train over the small hill. Does the train make it over the hill? How fast is it moving on the other 1. Connect 12 pieces of track (including the launcher side of the hill? track), and measure the length of the track with a tape measure. What is the length of the track? (d = ____) 2. Reconfigure the track with ten track pieces instead of nine. Launch the train again. Does the train make it over 2. Assemble the model pictured below, with the 12 track the hill this time? And if so, how easily? (Note: You might pieces in an oval and with the train on the track. need to add or remove a few rods from the frame in 3. Start a stopwatch as you flick the train with your finger. order to accommodate the new track.) Use enough force for the train to make it all the way 3. Now build the tallest hill using 11 track pieces. Launch around the track. the train again. What happens this time? 4. Stop the stopwatch when the train returns to its starting W H AT ’ s H a P P E N i ng ? position. How many seconds did the train take to make it around the track? (Δt = ____) Unlike in experiments 3–9, in which the train begins with gravitational potential energy, here you start the train from the 5. Calculate the average speed of the train by dividing the ground. So where does the train get the energy it needs to make length of the track by the time it took the train to it up the hill? The energy comes from elastic potential energy complete its journey. (average speed, v = d/Δt ) that is stored in the spring of the launcher. When you compress a spring over a certain distance, it gains potential energy. When W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? the launcher is released — and allowed to return to its starting shape — the spring exerts a force on the train. Speed can be thought of as the rate at which an object covers a certain distance. However, the train’s initial position on the track is the same as its final position, so the train’s change in position — or displacement — is zero. While speed is found by 1 x10 9 dividing distance by time, velocity is found by dividing 18 x1 displacement by time. So the train’s average velocity during its Medium hill journey is zero! A. 1 x11 18 x1 Done! B. Try experiment 13, step 2. A. 1 x11 10 18 x1 C. 13 Tall hill A. 13 13 13 13 B. C. B. Done! 13 Try experiment 13, step 3. 13 13 13 23 13  EXPERIMENT 15 Friction’s effect What slows the train down? You will need – Model from experiment 14 – Calculator, stopwatch, adhesive tape Here’s how The Incredible Hulk Coaster is located at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 1. Attach the launcher to the launcher track. Orlando, FL. Riders go upside down seven times and reach a maximum speed of 67 2. Launch the train. Observe. miles per hour during the ride. 3. Now create a “brake zone” by placing adhesive tape on the rails of a second of track. 4. Launch the train again. What is the effect of placing tape on the track? What happens if you add even more tape to the track? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? By adding tape you are increasing the amount of friction between the surface of the track and the wheels of the train. Think back to Newton’s first law. A train in motion will remain in motion, unless an unbalanced force acts upon it. Donnelly Williams and a team of engineers completed a control system upgrade of the Hulk The unbalanced force that brings a roller coaster train to a Coaster in 2016. Here he is on the site in 2016. stop is friction. If there were no friction, then the train would keep going forever! Friction is the force between surfaces that are sliding, or attempting to slide, across each other. Friction always Steps to Build a Roller Coaster opposes motion. If you are trying to slide a chair away from you across the floor, friction exists between the bottom of the chair and the floor and points toward you. The force of friction is determined by the normal force STEP DURATION and the coefficient of friction, which varies for different materials. This is why it’s easier to slide across the floor 3–5 months Design phase wearing socks compared to wearing sneakers. (The fabric in most socks has a lower coefficient of friction than the ble par ts in Buy par ts; make and assem 5–8 months rubbery composite on the bottom of most sneakers). and fab rication) shop (procurement The surface of the tape has a higher coefficient of friction 1–3 months than the surface of the plastic track. By increasing the force Fac tory testing of friction, you slowed the train down more effectively. ction on Roller coaster structure ere 8–10 months site build and Mechanical systems: site 3–5 months commissioning s: site build 3–5 months Electrical control system and commis sion ing 1–2 months Final testing 24  Roller Coaster Engineering ?! CHECK IT OUT A REAL Rolle r Coa ste r ENGINEER Donnelly Williams is a professional Donnelly Williams thinks of himself as a things to look, but Donnelly says engineers engineer in British Columbia, big kid — a big kid with a dream job. He are the ones who need to figure out how to Canada, with degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering. gets paid to use his mechanical and make the designs a safe reality. electrical engineering degrees to test and Roller coaster engineers also need to build roller coasters. think about the amount of forces their When Donnelly was a kid, he loved riders experience while on the coaster. Humans are about 80% taking things apart to see how they worked. There are specific standards that limit the water, so in the final testing He spent hours in his parents’ basement, amount of g-force the rider can experience phase, engineers load the ride with dummies filled his “laboratory,” tinkering, sketching and in a certain direction (see page 19). But with water. “These give you experimenting to build new things, such as g-forces are also what make rides fun and the dynamic movement that a hexapod robot (pictured below). thrilling! Engineers balance the goal of a person would have sloshing In college, Donnelly studied creating cool rides with the need to around on the ride.” mechanical engineering because he wanted eliminate risks. to create special effects for movies. This With the engineering firm he works enabled him to work as a mechanical for, Donnelly has worked on lots of engineer in many different industries. After different types of rides, including The ten years, he pivoted to working on roller Incredible Hulk Coaster and Harry Potter coasters. “In terms of fundamental and the Forbidden Journey, both at engineering, if you can design a machine, Universal’s Islands of Adventure. you can design a roller coaster.” The trains on roller coasters that use The biggest difference, of course, is launchers or “lift hills” have no engine. safety. Donnelly’s main job is to keep riders “Gravity’s got you — gravity and friction, safe. He uses finite element analysis — that is.” So engineers design block zones computer simulations that test the and brake zones. Once the train has been structures of coasters. “We figure out launched, it doesn’t stop until it hits the where it’s going to break and how it’s going brake zone. The zones are designed with to break, and then we figure out how to fix logic, so only one vehicle can occupy a those things [before they ever break].” block zone at any point in time. And before Hogwarts Castle at During the testing phase, Donnelly says, each block zone is a brake zone, so if one Universal’s Islands of “we basically attempt to break the ride any train gets stuck, the train behind it can be Adventure, which houses way we can think of. We need to show that stopped. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a ride the ride can stop safely, no matter what we Donnelly’s best advice to kids who Donnelly helped design. do.” want to design roller coasters someday: “A lot of roller coaster engineering “Build stuff. It doesn’t matter what it comes down to thinking about: How are is. This will help you better understand we going to take this apart? How are we how things go together and how things going to maintain this? What are the pieces work spatially.” that are going to wear down first?” Designers have ideas about how they want When he was a teenager, Donnelly wanted to make special effects for movies, so he set out to make a robot insect. From left to right: An early sketch of a remote-controlled spider; Donnelly’s first attempt at a robot spider; the next iteration, which used motors as legs; Donnelly’s final design: a programmable hexapod that could avoid walking into walls. 25  1 2 3 4 5 6 Ti p MODEL FOR EXPERIMENTS 16 AND 17 this is the big roller coaster model 20x 15x feature 38x d on10xthe front 2x of the box!114x 1 2 3 4 5 6 12 13 18 19 20x 15x 38x 10x 2x 114x 1x 21x 1x 1x Train 12 13 18 19 1 2 1x 21x 1x 1x Train 3x Side view 3 6x Side view 4 2x 6 5 26  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering 7 9 Red: assemble first Blue: assemble second Remove Add Add 8 Remove 10 1 x20 18 x1 A. 13 13 13 Red arrows B. 13 x9 13 Green arrows C. 13 13 x1 13 27  MODEL FOR EXPERIMENTS 16 AND 17 11 A. A. Note the position! Side view 28  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering 12 B. B. Side view 29  MODEL FOR EXPERIMENTS 16 AND 17 13 C. C. OK Side view 30  Käfer Roller Coaster Engineering EXPERIMENT 16 14 Ready to roll Can you get the train to make it all the way around the track? You will need – Model for experiments 16 and 17 Here’s how 1. Roll the train so it is just in front of the launch rod. Make sure it is facing the correct direction, as shown in the model image to the left. 2. Pull the spring compressor bar back until it clicks into the notch in the launcher and locks into place. 3. With your finger, flick the train backward toward the launcher to launch the train. Does it make it up the hill and all the way back to the launcher again? W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? The train should have easily made it up to the top of the hill and then rolled all the way back down to the launcher again. The launcher 15 provided enough kinetic energy to propel the train up the hill. At the top of the hill, the train’s potential energy peaks, and then as gravity pulls the train back down again, the potential energy is released back into kinetic energy. EXPERIMENT 17 Gravity alone Is the launcher actually necessary? Here’s how 1. Position the train at the very top of the roller coaster hill and release it to roll Done! down the hill. Does it make it all the way Try experiments back up the hill again? 16 and 17. W H AT ’ s Ha PPENing? The train cannot make it around the track when simply released from the top of the ride. Because some of the initial gravitational potential energy is lost to friction, energy must be added to the system in order for the train to complete the ride. 31  EXPERIMENTS 18–20 For the last three experiments, let’s put everything you’ve learned to the test! See if you can figure out how to build a roller coaster of your own design that satisfies each of the challenges below. Scan the QR code here to view one example solution for each challenge. There are many possible solutions to each. 1st Edition 2021 Thames & Kosmos, LLC, Providence, RI, Hint: USA Challenge 1 Thames & Kosmos® is a registered trademark of Thames & Kosmos, LLC. Design and build a roller This work, including all its parts, is copyright protected. Any use outside the specific limits of the copyright law coaster with two vertical loops without the consent of the publisher is prohibited and pun- that the train can travel ishable by law. This applies specifically to reproductions, successfully. The track does translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic systems and networks. We do not guarantee not need to be a continuous that all material in this work is free from copyright or other circuit. protection. Technical product development: Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C. Writing and Editing: Hannah Mintz, Ted McGuire Additional Graphics and Packaging: Dan Freitas, Ted McGuire Hint: Manual design concept: Atelier Bea Klenk, Berlin Challenge 2 Manual illustrations: Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C., and Thames & Kosmos Design and build the tallest roller Manual photos: p. 2 (wooden coaster) Micha Klootwijk coaster you can with only the parts in Photography, p. 2 (background coaster) neillockhart , p. 9 this kit. The track does not need to be a (apple), p. 9 (riders) Jacob Lund, p. 9 (shuttle) Mihail, p. 19 (loops) sonya etchison, p. 24 (coaster) Solarisys, p. 25 continuous circuit. (castle) Joni, p. 33 (top) panosk18, p. 33 (middle) Jazon88, CC BY-SA 3.0, p. 33 (bottom) danieldep, all previous ©stock.adobe.com; p. 9 (Netwon), p. 19 (flip flap) all previous public domain; p. 24 (Donnelly at The Hulk), p. 25 (Donnelly, four robots lower right), all previous courtesy of Donnelly Williams; The publisher has made every effort to locate the holders of image rights for all of the photos used. If in any individual cases any holders of image rights have not been acknowledged, they are asked to provide evidence to the publisher of their image rights so that they may be paid an image fee in line with the industry standard. Hint: Challenge 3 Distributed in North America by Thames & Kosmos, LLC. Providence, RI 02903 Phone: 800-587-2872; Web: www.thamesandkosmos.com Build a track that uses both the Distributed in United Kingdom by Thames & Kosmos UK potential energy of the car and the LP. Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HE spring-loaded power of the Phone: 01580 713000; Web: www.thamesandkosmos.co. launcher. The track does not need to uk be a continuous circuit. We reserve the right to make technical changes. Printed in Taiwan / Imprimé