This lesson will give students the opportunity to use communication, critical-thinking, and decision-making skills. Their groups will brainstorm and design a roller coaster and then build and test a prototype.
This would be a great lesson to schedule before our Engineering Design Process and Reverse Engineering lessons.
(Most appropriate for grade levels 3-8.)
Science Standards:
3.4.PS.2: Energy can be transferred from one location to another or can be transformed from one form to another.
6.PS.3: There are two categories of energy: kinetic and potential.
8.PS.4: An object's motion can be described by its speed and the direction in which it is moving.
8.PS.2: Forces can act to change the motion of objects.
High School Standards:
PS.FM: Forces and motion lesson
P.M: Motion
P.M: Forces, momentum and motion lessons
STEM Emerging Technology Connections:
Hypersonics: The roller coaster activity offers a very simplified analogy to Hypersonics in that both involve managing energy and motion along a defined path. Designing the roller coaster track to control the speed and momentum of the ball loosely relates to the challenges of controlling the trajectory and speed of a hypersonic vehicle.