Angie Smibert - Fairground Physics: Motion, Momentum, and Magnets with Hands-On Science Activities

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Every year, millions of people flock to fairgrounds and amusement parks seeking thrills, adventure, and maybe even some tasty food. And every year, engineers try to make taller, faster, and twistier ridesall in the name of fun!

Imagine youre strapped into a new ridethe Maxx Force. Compressed air launches the roller coaster forward, slamming you back into the padded restraints. In two seconds, you rocket up the first loop at 78 miles per hour. For a moment, you feel weightlessand then your stomach drops. The cars (and riders!) flip aroundtwiceat a gut-wrenching 60 miles per hour.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What makes fairgrounds fun?

WORDS TO KNOW

engineer: someone who uses science, math, and creativity to design and build things.

compressed air: air under more pressure than the outside air.

WORDS TO KNOW

invert: to turn upside down.

physics: the study of physical forces, including matter, energy, and motion, and how these forces interact with each other.

force: a push or pull that changes an objects motion.

gravity: a force that pulls all objects toward the earth.

microgravity: when something acts as though there is no gravity because it is in free fall or in orbit around the earth.

free fall: the motion of an object being acted upon only by the force of gravity, as if it were falling from the sky.

energy: the ability to do work or cause change.

universe: everything that exists, everywhere.

matter: what an object is made of. Anything that has weight and takes up space.

atom: the smallest particle of a substance that can exist by itself or be combined with other atoms to form a molecule.

BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before Common Era and counts years down to zero. CE stands for Common Era and counts years up from zero. This book was published in 2020 CE.

vacuum: a space with nothing in it, not even air.

The FASTEST roller coaster is the FORMULA ROSSA at Ferrari World in the United Arab Emirates. The coaster can reach speeds of 149 MILES PER HOUR .

Before it glides home, the roller coaster inverts three more timesand breaks as many records. The newest roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, set the records for fastest launch, tallest double inversion, and fastest inversion. Coaster fans are lining up to try the Maxx Force!

What makes a ride such as this funand even a little bit scary? Physics! In one roller coaster ride, youve taken a master class in physics. Youve experienced the force of gravity. You even felt microgravity in free fall, much as astronauts do! Youve created and expended energy. Youve moved in straight lines, loops, and twists.

In fact, all the rides at the fairground or amusement park depend on physics. So do the foods, lights, music, and games! To design rides, engineers have to understand motion, forces, and energy in order to make the rides safe and fun.

Want to see what its like to ride Maxx Force? This animation puts you in the front seat of the coaster!

Coasterforce Maxx Force

WHAT IS PHYSICS?

Physics is the study of how the universe works. We humans have been pondering this for thousands of years. Ancient Greek philosophers tried to explain what makes up matter, as well as how it moves. They observed the world around them and offered reasoned explanations. One early philosopher even correctly described matter as being made up of atoms.

The tallest roller coaster is the KINGDA KA at Six Flags New Jersey. The coaster is 456 FEET TALL .

However, a more famous thinker, named Aristotle (384322 BCE) rejected this idea. He didnt think a vacuum such as the empty spaces between the atomscould exist. He proposed that objects needed a force behind them to moveand keep moving. For example, if someone threw a ball, it kept moving, Aristotle reasoned, because air rushed in behind the ball to keep a vacuum from forming. His inaccurate ideas about motion ruled physics until the sixteenth century.

Does this ride look fun to you?

WORDS TO KNOW

theory: an unproven idea that explains why something is the way it is.

physicist: a scientist who studies physics.

Scientific Revolution: a series of events and discoveries between the 1500s and 1700s that marked the emergence of modern science.

Newtonian physics: the science that uses the laws of motion and gravitation formulated in the late seventeenth century by English physicist Sir Isaac Newton to explain how matter behaves.

electromagnetism: magnetism created by a current of electricity.

radiation: energy that comes from a source and travels through something, such as the radiation from an X-ray that travels through a person.

subatomic: relating to the inside of an atom.

Thats when Galileo Galilei (15641642) did something radical. He performed experiments to test his ideas about motion. In his most famous experiment, Galileo claimed to have dropped two objectsone heavy, one lightfrom the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1589. Both objects reached the ground at the same time.

ALL OBJECTS on Earth FALL at the same rate.

Although some scholars do not believe that Galileo actually performed this experiment, Galileo arguedcorrectly!that objects free fall at the same rate, no matter their size. Through other experiments, Galileo also concluded that an object in motion continues to move in a straight line until its stopped by some force. Both theories are still accepted today!