BOsLearningLog:DesignaRollerCoaster

TheProject:Ingroupsof2or3youwilldesignarollercoasterandmakeaproposalforsellingit.Yourpotentialcustomerisalocal
whowanttobuildaNapaValleythemedamusementpark.Theonlyrequirementsgiventoyouitthatishastobeafun,safe,and
educationalridethatmultipleagegroupscanenjoy.Assuchitcanbenotallerthan100m,nolongerthan2000m,andgonofaster
than32.5m/s.Youwillneedtodesignthelift/launchmechanismaswelltherideitself.

GroupMembers:
BO
CY
EG
Afterreadingabouttheprojectandthinkingaboutit,Whatwouldyouneedtoknowinordertostartdesigningarollercoaster?
Thelengthofthetrack,thespeedofthecarts,heightofdropsandloops,howmuchweightthesupportscantake,materialstouse
andhowtoactuallymakeit.
Logicalfirststeps/nextsteps..Ourfirststepstotakeinordertostartdesigningtherollercoastermaybeto...
Brainstormideasforthefundamentalsoftheproject,whatwewantittolooklike,color,shape,howlargeectrunthecalculations
toensureitissafeandworksproperly,actuallybuiltit.

Feb.23Feb.26
Roles:
Facilitator:BO
Presenter:EG
Writer:CY

LearningActivities

ScaffoldingActivity
(whatwedoinclass)

Learning:Summaryofwhatyoulearned,came
tounderstandorwhatyouget

Connection:HowdoeswhatIlearned
helpmecompletetheproject?

EntryActivity:MakeaLoop

Thecarneedsahighenoughvelocitywhen
enteringtheloopinordertomakeitalltheway
around.
Thetrackneedstobesmoothlevel,and
connectedtoensuretherideissmooth.
Theshapeoftheloopneedstobesymmetrical
sothatthecardoesnotjumpthetracksorslow
downprematurely.

Theamountofvelocityneededwould
determinehowhighandsteeptheroller
coasterwouldneedtodropfrom.
Thetrackweuseinouractualrollercoaster
needstobesafeandsmoothsoitworkswell.
Wewillmostlikelyhaveloopsinourend
product,soweneedtoknowtheproper
shape.

Pg.67lecturenotes

Whatworkdoesandhowitrelatestoenergy,
alongwiththeequationsthatwillgiveyouthe
numbersyouarelookingfor.

Wewillneedtodothesecalculationsto
figureouthowmuchenergyourrollercoaster
needstomoveandthereforehowmuchwork
eachcomponentneedstoputout.

Endoftheweekreflection:
SomethingIamreallyinterestedinsofarisTheprocess
throughwhichpeopleactuallydetermineifarollercoasterwill
work.

SomethingIamstrugglingwithisNothingsofar.

AnaccomplishmentoreffortIwanttocelebrateisWehavea
goodideaofwherewewilltakeourrollercoaster,designwise.

SomethingIneedfrommyteacherorgroupisSofarwehave
allbeenworkingtogetherwell,andSaslowhasdoneagoodjob
ofexplainingeverythingsoweavoidanyconfusion.

Feb.29Mar.4
Roles:
Facilitator:BO
Presenter:EG
Writer:CY

LearningActivities

ScaffoldingActivity
(whatwedoinclass)

Learning:Summaryofwhatyoulearned,came
tounderstandorwhatyouget

Connection:HowdoeswhatIlearned
helpmecompletetheproject?

Pulleylecturepg.69notes

Inordertomakesomethingeasiertolift,pulleys
areincluded.Thepulleysreducetheamountof
forceneededbyhowevermanypullyesthereare,
byincreasingthedistance.

pulleysaremostlikelygoingtobe
incorporatedintoourrollercoasterasa
meansofmovingthecarsupinclinedand
steephills,thereforethemorewehavethe
lesstheengineneedstoworkandthemore
effectiveourcoasterwillbe.

ConceptMap

Weorganizedourideassothatwecould
determinewhatwasmostimportanttotheproject,
andwefoundthatthemainfocusforthemoment
shouldbeontheliftsystemthatwillstartourroller
coaster.

Thisishelpfulasitwilldeterminewhatwe
workonfirst,aswellasunderstandwhich
partsoftheprojectareconnectedtoeach
othersowecanworkquicklyandefficiently.

Pg.71lecturenotes

theefficiencyofthemotorwilldictatehowmuch
forceitprovides,andthereforehowmuchpoweris

Becausethepulleysystemisonly75%
efficientintheproject,wehavetocalculatethe

availabletoliftthecart.

Win,andthusweneedtheefficiency
equation.

Readingtherubricand
askingquestions

welearnedaboutwhatwasneededfortheproject,
andwhatweneedtoturninonFriday.Wealso
learnedwhatformatwasneededforeachpart,like
thewritingandmath.

Weneedtoknowthisinformationsowecan
turninourprojecttomorrow.Forexample,we
foundoutthatweallneedtoturninthe
picturesandthemath.

PerformanceTask

Youcancalculatethenumberofpulleysyouneed
toliftagivenweightbydividingtheFinintotheF
out.Also,helpedsolidifytheideathatthePE
equaledtheWorkoutorWorkin.

Theseareallideasweneedtoapplytoour
actualprotect.Forexampleweneedto
calculatethenumberofpulleysneededtolift
ourcartgiventhepowerofthemotorwe
choose,andthiswillhelpusdothat.

Endoftheweekreflection:

SomethingIamreallyinterestedinsofarisHowthedifferent
thingsyousolvefor,suchasWork,PE,KE,Forceect.can
sometimesequaleachotherandareallsomewhatconnected,
likeWork=PE.

SomethingIamstrugglingwithisTheideaofworkinand
workoutandforceinandforceoutsometimescanconfuseme,
andIwillforgetwhatiswhat.

AnaccomplishmentoreffortIwanttocelebrateisIbelievewe
havemoreorlessworkedoutthenumberofpulleysweneedin
ordertomoveourcartupthebeginningramp,andwehavealso
developedabasicideaofwhatthecoasterwilllooklikeandthe
themebehindit.

SomethingIneedfrommyteacherorgroupisIdon'tthinkI
specificallyNEEDanything.Mygroupworksverywelltogether
andasfarasmypointofconfusionIjustneedtomemorize
whatgoeswithwhat.

Mar.7Mar.11
Roles:
Facilitator:CY
Presenter:BO
Writer:EG

LearningActivities

ScaffoldingActivity
(whatwedoinclass)

Learning:Summaryofwhatyoulearned,came
tounderstandorwhatyouget

Connection:HowdoeswhatIlearned
helpmecompletetheproject?

PerformanceTask

Welearnedhowtocalculatethenumberofpulleys
neededdependedontheweightoftheobjectwe
neededtoliftandtheamountofFinavailableforthe
system,thatishowmuchforcethe.14kg.was
abletoapplytothepulleyssystem.

Thisisimportantasitrelatedtotheliftsystem
wewillbeusingonthecoaster,becausewe
havethemassofthetwocarswewillbelifting
tothetopofour100m.hill,andwealsohave
theamountofforceavailabletousthroughthe
motorwechose,andnowwecandouble
checkifthenumberofpulleysweusedisin
factenoughtoliftthecarts.

WorkPulleyQuiz

IlearnedthestepsIneedtotakeinordertosolve
fortheFin,whichisimportantinpulleysystemsas
itishowhardyou(orthemotor)needstopullon
theroleorcable.

Icanusethesestepstocheckourworkand
solveforanythingweareunsureon,toensure
thecartsareabletoreachthetopofthehill.

VideoLecture

Ilearnedaboutthemechanicalenergy,andhowit
equalsthepotentialenergyaddedtothekinetic
energy.

this,combinedwiththeKEequation,ishow
wewillsolveforthespeedofourrollercoaster
atanygivenpointofinterest,whichiswhatwe
needforbenchmark2.

ExampleProblems

welearnedhowthemechanicaldoesn'tchange

thisisimportantbecausefindingthevelocityis

Lab12

andsoyoucaneasilysolvefortheKEandPE,
eventuallyallowingyoutofindthevelocityofthe
coasteratanygivenpoint.

exactlywhatweweremeanttodoin
benchmark#2,andknowingthemathisa
majorpart.

wedidn'tstartthisyet,wewillbedoingitnext
week.

Endoftheweekreflection:
SomethingIamreallyinterestedinsofarisTheideaof
mechanicalenergyandhowitdoesn'tchangeatanypointinthe
ride.

SomethingIamstrugglingwithisNothingatthemoment,I
feellikeIunderstandthemathwell.

AnaccomplishmentoreffortIwanttocelebrateisWefinished SomethingIneedfrommyteacherorgroupisNothingatthe
ourworkforbenchmark#2,andworkedthroughthemath
moment.WeareworkingwelltogetherandSaslowhasdonea
togethertoovercomeanyconfusion.
goodjobofexplainingthecontentweneed.

Mar.14Mar.18
Roles:
Facilitator:EG
Presenter:CY
Writer:BG

LearningActivities

ScaffoldingActivity
(whatwedoinclass)

Learning:Summaryofwhatyoulearned,came
tounderstandorwhatyouget

Connection:HowdoeswhatIlearned
helpmecompletetheproject?

Pg.75Notes

Furtheredmyunderstandingofhowtocalculatethe Thisiswhatweareaskedtodoinbenchmark
velocityofanobjectaftersolvingfortheME,PE,
3,andthereforeitwillhelpuswiththe
KE.
calculationsneededfortheproject.

PracticeQuiz

Prettymuchthesameasthenotesonpage75,
howeverIalsonowunderstandhowtocalculate
theheightofthecartatacertainspeed,andhow
thisisrelatedtothemechanicalenergy.

Thismaybeimportantifweneedtocalculate
apointontherollercoaster,forinstanceifwe
wantthecarttogoacertainspeedandneed
tofindwhatnightthetrackshouldbeat.

Quiz

Thiswasallthesameinformationthatwelearned
inthenotesandthepracticequiz,soitreinforced
theideasandgavemeasecondchanceto
practicethemathneededforthecalculations.

Again,thisiswhatisrequiredforthe3rdand
finalbenchmark,soitwillmaketheproject
mucheasier.

Lab12

Therearemultiplewaystofindthespeedofan
objectatagivenpoint,dependingonwhatyouhave
availabletoyou.Forexample,thelabshowedus
howtofindthespeedgiventhetimeamarbletook
totravelacertaindistance.

Thiscouldbebeneficialintheprojectshould
weknowhowlongthecartwillbetravelingfor,
andoverwhatdistance.Thiswaywehave
anotheroptionforfindingthespeedofthecart
atthegivenpointsofinterest.


Endoftheweekreflection:

SomethingIamreallyinterestedinsofarisThefactthatyou
areabletocalculatethespeedofanobjectwithsolittle
information.

SomethingIamstrugglingwithisNothingatthemoment,
howeverIfoundthelabslightlyconfusingandprefertofindthe
speedusingtheenergyandtheheight.

AnaccomplishmentoreffortIwanttocelebrateisWeall
workedtogetherasateamandcompletedthebenchmark
withouthavinganymajorpointsofconfusionoruncertainty.

SomethingIneedfrommyteacherorgroupisNothing
actually,allwehaveleftistopresentourrideafterbreak,andso
aslongasweallpracticeoverthetimeoffwewillbefine.