Web Quest
Amusement Park Science
created
by Cassandra Depieri
Introduction
Amusement parks are places
where people like to go with their friends and families on weekends and
holidays. They are entertainment centers that cater to people looking for fun
and an escape from daily life. Going to an amusement park is a fun way to
spend the day! but there is another side to amusement parks : one that most
people don't think about. This other side is the one that makes the existence
of these amusement parks possible; science, technology, and engineering.
Roller coaster rides are the most popular rides at today's amusement parks. The
lines of people waiting to ride them never let up. We pay good money to feel
the thrills of the roller coasters and be scared to death! But why are we so
drawn to roller coasters? What makes them so exciting to ride? Just how do they
work? Read on, and let's find out together!
You are a structural engineer
who has just been hired by Magic Mountain to design a new roller coaster. The
theme park will need your plans in one week, and you are scheduled to meet with
them by next Thursday to show them your blueprint for the architectural plans.
Your job will be to search for and discover the important elements that need to
be considered when designing a roller coaster, as well as the important forces
at work during this theme park ride. Throughout the week, you will work
independently as you are guided to different online resources. This will help
you to successfully design your new roller coaster with a fellow engineer in
your class.
Day 1
Today you will be interviewing
a person about their previous experience on roller coasters. This person will
be your partner next week and will help you design your new roller coaster.
Sitting together with your partner, answer and ask the following questions:
Interview Questions
1.Have you ever been on a roller coaster?
2.Which one was your favorite, and why?
3.How did it make you feel?
4.How was your favorite roller coaster
designed?
5.How were the roller coasters you went
on different from
the roller coasters of today?
6.What was the price of admission to your
favorite
amusement park?
7.How much has the admission to that
amusement changed
today?
You will be presenting this
information to the class and as engineers, we will have a discussion about some
of the best and worst roller coasters in California.
Day 3
Your teacher will be handing
out journals to you today. These will be your science journals and will be very
important to you during this Web Quest. Just like scientists, you will be
documenting the information you find from your search and experiments. This
information will help you design your roller coaster and present it to the Ride
Committee of Magic Mountain, so make sure you take good notes! Your teacher
will be going over a rubric with you to show how your journals will be scored.
|
|
go to "Amuse Me: Theme Park Physics" at: www.librarythinkquest.org/C005075F/ and click on " Roller Coasters ". Describe a brief history of roller coasters and theme park rides. When was the first theme park ride ever built? When was the first roller caster ever built? What features did it have? Write one paragraph explaining this fascinating history. |
|
|
now click on: "Roller coasters", then on: "Designing the Roller Coaster" and in a paragraph, answer these following questions: 1) What do designers have to check when designing a roller coaster? Why? 2) Why do construction sites of roller coasters require a huge amount of land? Write this information in your journal and include a proposal of how you want your roller coaster to be designed and why you want it to be designed that way. |
|
|
Write your answers and take any other notes in your science journal. Title it: "Project X - Day 1". Feel free to give examples to your answers with illustrations. When you are finished, turn in your journal to your teacher. |
Day 3
|
|
Go to the website you were on yesterday:" Amuse Me: Theme Park Physics" at: www.librarythinkquest.org/C005075F/ and click on "Hills, Drag, and Fiction". Use the information you see to answer these questions: 1) What is momentum? How is it built up by a roller coaster? 2)What is friction caused by? |
|
|
Go back to "Home" and click on "Energy". Carefully read the information and use it to answer this question: How do coasters keep moving if they have no motor? Explain. |
|
|
Write your answers and take any other notes from this website in your science journal. Title it: "Project X - Day 2". Remember to give examples to your answers with illustrations. When you are finished, turn in your journal to your teacher. |
Day 4
|
|
Go to "Physics of Amusement Parks" at: http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/find/nkigaku/english/index.htm and click on: "Let's Study Forces- Falling" Using the information you see, answer this question: How do roller coasters speed up? |
|
|
go to "Let's Study Forces - Turning". Use the information you see to answer this question: On the loop the loop ride, which are scarier: big loops or small loops? Why? |
|
|
go to "Let's Study Forces - Floating". Click on "Experiencing Gravity on a Freefall Machine". Use the information you see to answer these questions: 1)Why isn't there any gravity? 2)Why does the car end up facing upwards? 3)What happens if you take a drink on the ride with you? Why? |
|
|
Go to "Let's Study Forces - Thrills & Safety". Click on "Enjoying Thrills Safely with Clothoid Curves". Use the information you see to answer these questions: 1)What is a clothoid loop? 2)How did the world's first loop ride look? 3)Why was it unsafe? Write your answers and take any other notes from this website in your science journal. Title it: "Project X - Day 3". Remember to give examples to your answers with illustrations. When you are finished, turn in your journal to your teacher. |
Day 5
|
|
Go to "Internet Fairground" at http://library.thinkquest.org/ and click on "Science Guy". Once you are on that screen, go to "Lego Programmable Brick". Use the information you see to answer this question: How can Legos be used to design a roller coaster? |
|
|
go to "Roller coaster Design Simulator" and click on "Interview: Coaster Kid MIT". Use the information you see to write a brief summary of the interview as well as the challenges the student went through to complete the roller coaster. Infer what this means for you as an engineer about to design your new coaster. How has this information helped you? Describe what you will include in your roller coaster and predict why or why not it will make your ride the fastest and most exciting ride yet. This will be your hypothesis and will guide you as you collect data tomorrow on your roller coaster experiment. |
|
|
Go to "Safety" and click on "Accident Prevention Brainstorming". Read about the first and second accidents listed on that page and answer the class discussion questions listed there. Write your answers and take any other notes from this website in your science journal. Title it: "Project X - Day 4". Remember to give examples to your answers with illustrations. When you are finished, turn in your journal to your teacher. |
Day 6
|
|
Today you will be testing your hypothesis and collecting data on your roller coaster experiment as you attempt to design your own roller coaster. Go to: "Funderstanding Rollercoasters" at: http://www.funderstanding.com/K12/coaster and click on "Design your own Rollercoaster". Get into groups of two and together with your partner, design your own roller coaster by setting the controls on the hills, sizes of loops, speed of coaster, mass, gravity, and friction. Test your roller coaster. Does it work or does it fall off the track. Why? Take notes in your journal of your trial and error. |
|
|
Adjust the controls to make you ride work. After you are satisfied with your design, answer the following questions. What are some factors that make a difference in the design of your new ride? What makes the roller coaster run smoothly? What makes it malfunction and drop off the track? Why? Explain your answers in your journal and title it "Project X - Day 5". |
|
|
Print out 2 copies of your roller coaster and give one copy to your teacher with your name on it. Keep the other copy because you will be using it to make an illustration of your roller coaster. |
Days 7, 8,
and 9
Today you will begin working
on an advertisement for your roller coaster. This will include a large
illustration of your ride with an advertisement slogan, and all the important
elements labeled.
|
|
Underneath your illustration, you will write a paragraph describing how and why the elements of your ride will make it the fastest, scariest, hair raising ride in California! Your teacher will provide you with a large piece of butcher paper for your advertisement poster, and will go over the rubric for this poster with you to let you know how you will be scored. |
|
|
You will be working on this poster for the next three days. on Thursday or Friday you will present your poster to the class. The class will serve as the Ride Committee for Magic Mountain and you and your partner are the structural engineers. Your job is to try and sell us your ride, together with your partner, and convince us it will be the most exciting ride in California by pointing out and describing all the elements and special features of your roller coaster. |
Day 10
Today is your big day! Are you
ready to sell your roller coaster and share it with the world?! Do you have
everything you need to successfully present your idea to the committee? Use
your notes from your science journal to rehearse your presentation. Remember,
your presentation must be between 3-5 minutes long and include all the special
features of your new ride. Good luck!
If you find that you are
absolutely fascinated by roller coasters and would like to find out some more
information about them on your own, feel free to check out these exciting and
informative resources from your library or on your computer! Happy searching!
Websites
1) Amusement Park Physics
http://www.learner.orgexhibits/uarkDhvsics!/
Information about the physics present in
amusement parks and opportlmities to design your own theme park rides.
2) Amusement Ride Accidents
http://:llmembers.aol.com!rides911/accidents.htm/
News about accidents and injuries
related to amusement park rides.
3) Carousel
Background information and historical
facts about carousels, with lots of images.
4) Doing Science: An Introduction to
Physical Science .
http://www.aceot.la.asu.edu/courses/ohs11O/ds/toc.htrl/
An online textbook for physics.
5) Rollercoaster!
http://www.me.utexas.edu/~Uer/roller/historv.htrnl/
Information about roller coaster history
and selected rides, with an article on "The Most Terrifying Coaster
Ever!"
6) Roller Coaster Database
A searchable database of roller coaster
statistics, covering more than 450 rides.
7) Theme Parks
http://themeoarks.rniningco.com/
The Mining Company's guide to theme
parks, including links to background information and parks.
8) World of Coasters
A large collection of news, information,
and resources relating to roller coasters.
Books
|
|
Adams, J. Twayne, J (1991). The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills. |
|
|
Cartmell, R.(1986). The Incredible Scream Machine: A History of the Roller Coaster Amusement Park Books |
|
|
Feynman, R. (1996). Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher. Addison-Wesley |
|
|
Fraley, Tobin (1994). The Great American Carousel: A Century of Master Craftsmanship Chronicle Books |
|
|
Kuhn, K.F. (1996) Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide. John Wiley & Sons |
|
|
H. Silverstien, (1986) Scream Machines: Roller Coasters Past, Present, and Future Herma Silverstein. Walker Books |
|
|
Urbanowicz, S. (1997). The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the World's Best Coasters |
|
|
Wyatt, M. (1996). The Illustrated Guide to the World's Biggest and Best Roller Coaster and Thrill Rides. Random House Books |
|
|
Cartmell, R. (1987) The Incredible Scream Machine: A History of the Rollercoaster. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press |
|
|
Wiese, J. (1989) Amusement Park Physics. Franklin Park: Central Scientific Company |
|
|
Wiese, J. (2000). Rollercoaster Science: 50 wet, wacky, wild. dizzy experiments about things kids like best. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. |
Your grade will be based
on your participation during the Web Quest, the notes you take from the online
resources in your science journals, and your presentation of your poster to the
committee. Here are the rubrics I will be using to assign you points. 4 is the
highest (exemplarary) and 1 is the lowest (beginning).
Always
try to do your best in each of these activities and reach for a 4!
Rubric
- Science Journals
|
4 Exemplarary |
|
||||||
|
3 Accomplished |
|
||||||
|
2 Developing |
|
||||||
|
1 Beginning |
|
Rubric - Roller Coaster
Presentation
|
4 Exemplarary |
|
||||||
|
3 Accomplished |
|
||||||
|
2 Developing |
|
||||||
|
1 Beginning |
|
Rubric - Participation
|
4 Exemplarary |
|
||||||
|
3 Accomplished |
|
||||||
|
2 Developing |
|
||||||
|
1 Beginning |
|
Congratulations! You have learned about
the history of the roller coaster as well as the many forces at work when this
exciting ride is in motion. As a structural engineer, you were given the
opportunity to design your own unique ride and present it to the Ride Committee
of Magic Mountain. Now you will never look at a roller coaster the same! The
next time you go to an amusement park and ride a roller coaster, look back and
think about what you learned in this lesson.
Enjoy the ride!
National
Educational Technology Standards
-Grades 6-8 http://cnets.iste.org/
|
|
Social, Ethical, and Human Issues |
Exhibit legal
and ethical behaviors when using information and technology, and discuss
consequences of misuse.
|
|
Technology Research Tools, Technology Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Tools |
Use content
specific tools, software, and simulations to support learning and research
|
|
Social, Ethical, and Human Issues, Technology Research Tools, Technology Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Tools |
Research and
evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and bias
of electronic information sources concerning real world problems.
Science
Content Standards for California Public Schools - Grade Eight http://www.cde.ca.gov/standards
|
|
Forces |
d. Students know
how to identify separately the two or more forces that are acting on a single
static object including gravity, elastic forces due to tension or compression
in matter, and friction.
e. students know that when the
forces of an object are unbalanced, the object will change its velocity (that
is it will speed up, slow down, or change direction).
|
|
Investigation and Experimentation |
a. Plan and
conduct a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis.