Introductory physics

Physics plays an important role in the mechanics of a roller coaster. The thrilling ride cannot be appreciated, if the physics of a roller coaster is not understood. The loops, bends and hills are all affected by physics. The first hill of a roller coaster is the initial start of energy. Potential energy begins the transfer of energy on the first hill. A chain motor pulls the cars to the top of the hill creating potential energy. Potential energy being defined as the energy determined by its position compared to that of its surroundings. The potential energy is built up due to the height of the roller coaster. Although some of the energy is lost it is eventually turned into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy also referred to as motion energy is…

Last Thursday, I had a hockey practice, and before anyone else came on the ice, my brother Michael and I were just shooting around. To see how fast my slapshot is, I had him stand at the other end of the ice, and using his phone, see how long it took for my shot to go from one goal line to the other, exactly 60.96 meters. Keeping the puck on the ice the whole time during my shot, changing just the position of the puck, my slapshot took 4 seconds to cross the far goal line, making my slapshot…

Purpose: To study sliding friction and to determine the coefficients of static and kinetic friction. Theory: Friction is a force that opposes motion. Static friction prevents an objects being set into motion by an external force. Kinetic friction opposes the progress of a sliding object. Static friction is given by Fs< usn where N is the normal force between the object and its support surface and us is the coefficient of static friction. There-fore, the coefficient of static friction is…

Friction plays a major role in actual roller coaster physics. Once cars are lifted to the top of the hill, gravity takes over, and kinetic energy is transferred throughout the remainder of the ride. Mechanical energy is not consistent. Mechanical energy is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. Mechanical energy can either be potential or kinetic. The four types of friction are static, sliding, rolling, and fluid. The normal force is one component of the contact force between two…

Mouse Killing Car Project While building and testing a mousetrap car the builder must understand a few simple but, vital mechanics. The vehicle will be propelled by the pulling force of a small mousetrap. The end goal of building this car is to have it go from one end of the room to the other on top of carpet. Leverage, kinetic energy, and friction; are things to take into consideration while testing and building the car. There are two types of levers to keep in mind. The first is the lever arm…

1. C Why: according to Newton’s first law of motion, an object that is free from all outside forces travels at a constant velocity, covering equal distances in equal times along a straight-line path, C is true. 2. D Why: not matter an object is still or is in motion, the object has inertia all the time. Inertia is a nature/property of any objects. 3. D Why: the ship is moving at a constant speed, which is in a balanced status. For the athlete, it would be likely to do a long jump on ground.…

The purpose of this lab is to evaluate the relationship between kinetic friction coefficient and static coefficient as well as measure the coefficients of the two friction. Friction is the force that resists relative tangential movement. Its direction is opposite to the relative velocity. Kinetic friction and static friction are two types of friction. Static Friction happens when the two surface in contact remains relatively stationary to each other. It reaches its maximum value before the…

The similarities and differences of Kinetics of a Particle: Work and Energy and Planar Kinetics of a Rigid Body: Work and Energy. Kinetics of a particle: work and energy shows the particle moving when forces are applied to it and produces work and energy. Meanwhile under planar kinetics of a rigid body shows the rigid body on the plane when forces are applied and produces work and energy. There are similarities and differences between both of it. Kinetics of a particle Planar kinetics of a…

The Magnet Cannon is a perplexing object to understand how the forces work, in this explanation I will explain how the forces and energy in the magnet cannon work. The purpose of the magnet cannon is to help show how kinetic and magnetic forces work. The magnet Cannon is an object composed of 5 balls a ruler and a magnet. One of the balls is placed on one side of the magnet (ball A), then the other 4 balls (balls B-D) go on the other side of the magnet, then the contraption is placed on a ruler.…

second photo is used to show the moment of contact which is what I am talking about). In terms of the physics in the photo. The focus of this paper will be on the energy transfer from the bat to the ball, which causes the ball to reverse directions, increase velocity, and create a launch angle to potentially be a homerun. Physics in baseball is very complicated, where there are many things before during and after the swing occur, but the focus will be the moment of impact in order to stay…