You are here:

Content contained within the resource

Teachers' Domain - Digital Media for the Classroom and Professional Development Search Teachers' Domain Go User: My Folders Loading... Create a new folder Upload Media My Groups No groups created yet. Create a new Group Join a Group My Profile HELP | SIGN OUT Please sign in for full access This Teachers' Domain feature requires registration, which is simple, safe, and free. Register Now Citation "Centripetal Force: Roller Coaster Loops." Teachers' Domain. 20 Feb. 2004. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. .

To embed citation, copy and paste the embed code above into your document. Create a new Folder Title: Description (optional): CREATE NEW FOLDER CANCEL Create a new Group Title: Description (optional): Allow all access requests CREATE NEW GROUP CANCEL Join a Group Enter the group ID number: JOIN GROUP CANCEL Delete this Review Deleting this review will remove it from the Teachers' Domain system. DELETE REVIEW CANCEL Delete this Comment Deleting this comment will remove it from the Teachers' Domain system. DELETE COMMENT CANCEL Not yet registered? Register now to download, share, and save resources. It's simple, safe, and free! Learn More You are now "Test Driving" Teachers' Domain You may view up to 7 resources in this limited trial period. You have 6 views remaining. Register now for unlimited free access and to download, share, and save resources. Learn More Thank you for "Test Driving" Teachers' Domain You have viewed all seven resources permitted in this limited trial period. You may continue to browse the site, but to view, download, share, and save resources, you must register now. Registration is simple, safe, and free. First time here? As a user, you may browse Teachers' Domain and view as many resources as you wish without registering. However, for access to all of the features of Teachers' Domain, we'll need a little more information. Learn More About Registration: Registering with Teachers' Domain is FREE and allows you to: View as many resources as you like Save, sort, and share resources using My Folders and My Groups Download resources to your desktop See standards correlations for your state Register Now For more information: Learn about our online Professional Development Courses, or review our Privacy Policy. If you still have questions, please contact us. Welcome user: Not your account? SIGN IN TO CONNECT THIS ACCOUNT Sign-in Name: Organization: Change Organization Password: Sign In Forgot Your Password? What is this? Signing in now will connect your and Teachers' Domain accounts, so that in the future you will automatically be signed into Teachers' Domain when you come from . Centripetal Force: Roller Coaster Loops Resource for Grades 3-12 | Citation Media Type: Video Running Time: 4m 40s Size: 14.0 MB View SAVE TO FOLDER Loading... Save Cancel Share | Source: Produced for Teachers' Domain Resource Produced by: Collection Developed by: Collection Credits Collection Funded by: See Also: National K -12 Subject: Objects in Motion Velocity and Acceleration What can we learn about physics from an amusement park ride? This videosegment, produced for Teachers' Domain, uses roller coaster footage todemonstrate that what really keeps people pinned to their seats as aroller coaster hurtles through a loop isn't just the seat belts, it's centripetal force. To reinforce this important scientific principle,a physics teacher successfully swings a cup of water around his headwithout spilling a drop. Accessibility Features: Caption Background Essay When an object moves in a circle, which is effectively what a roller coaster does when it travels through a loop, the moving object is forced inward toward what's called the center of rotation. It's this push toward the center -- centripetal force -- that keeps an object moving along a curved path. Centripetal force prevents moving objects from exiting a curve by continuously making them change their direction toward the center of rotation. For a roller coaster, gravity pulls down on the cars and its riders with a constant force, whether they move uphill, downhill, or through a loop. The rigid steel tracks, together with gravity, provide the centripetal force needed to keep the cars on the arching path as they move through the loop. In the "gravity-defying" cup-of-water demonstrations featured in this video segment, the push from a board against a cup makes the cup continuously change direction and keep moving in a circle. What provides the push in this instance? It's the tension in the strings attached to the board, together with gravity. Gravity always pulls downward with the same strength, and, in the case of a roller coaster, it pulls downward on the cars wherever they are on the track. Near the bottom of a loop, gravity pulls in a direction away from the center of the loop circle. Here, the centripetal force is the difference between the force of the track pushing up and gravity pulling down. Near the top of the loop, however, gravity and the track both act with a downward force and work together to provide the centripetal force; their forces add together. Regardless of where the cars are in the loop, centripetal force is always directed toward the center of rotation. So even if a car you're riding in is at the top of a loop, upside-down, you will feel yourself pressed into your seat. Often, people confuse centripetal force with centrifugal force. The sensation roller coaster riders experience that makes them feel like they're being pushed into their seats as they go through a loop is commonly referred to as centrifugal force, although it isn't a force at all. It's the result of observing one's motion relative to the object in which one is traveling. To better understand the distinction, put yourself in the rider's place. When the roller coaster car you're riding in changes direction, your body continues to travel in the same direction it was traveling in before the change in direction. (If the car and track weren't there, you would continue on this path.) As a result, you find yourself pressed against the seat throughout the loop -- perhaps most surprisingly at the top, when you're completely upside-down! If you were to observe your motion relative to the car, however, you'd realize that the seat is actually pushing down on you, inward toward the center of rotation. Print Background Essay Discussion Questions Describe the force of gravity on the roller coaster as it moves through the loop. Draw a diagram of the circling cup, and use arrows to illustrate the forces at play. Print Discussion Questions Standards About Standards | Report a Standards Mismatch About Standards | Report a Standards Mismatch About Standards | Report a Standards Mismatch   close Report a standards correlation problem To help improve this service, please report and describe any standards correlations that you find to be inaccurate. close About standards correlation Academic standards correlations on Teachers' Domain use the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) database of state and national standards, provided to NSDL projects courtesy of JES & Co. We assign reference terms to each statement within a standards document and to each media resource, and correlations are based upon matches of these terms for a given grade band. If a particular standards document of interest to you is not displayed yet, it most likely has not yet been processed by ASN or by Teachers' Domain. We will be adding social studies and arts correlations over the coming year, and also will be increasing the specificity of alignment. Grades:   Change grade range Grades: K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 to: K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 You must be signed in to see standards matches for your state. Loading Standards Comments and Reviews Add a Review Based on 3 reviews Please rate and review this resource: Rating Details (optional): Content: Presentation: Standards alignment: Overall rating: Your review: Post your reviewCancel Loading reviews... Teachers' Domain is proud to be a Pathways portal to the National Science Digital Library.   Major funding for Teachers' Domain was provided by the National Science Foundation. Teachers Domain® Home | Change Edition About Teachers' Domain | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use Teachers' Domain: © 2002-2012 WGBH Educational Foundation | shopPBS Educational Media