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What makes roller coasters go so fast?

What makes roller coasters go so fast?

Lesson narration:
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DISCUSS:

How do roller coaster cars move if they don’t have an engine? (Where do they get their energy from?)

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If you need a natural stopping point!

Teachers: If you are short on time, this is a good stopping point. We recommend leaving your students' tracks set up so they can get right to experimenting at the start of the next session.

If you’re continuing right now, advance to the next slide.

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If you need a natural stopping point!

Teachers: If you are short on time, this is a good stopping point. The next experiment will require your students to get additional marbles.

If you’re continuing right now, advance to the next slide.

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energy


1 of 10

the ability to do an action
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gravity


2 of 10

an invisible force that pulls any object down, toward the Earth
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gravitational energy (height energy)


3 of 10

energy that is due to gravity
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speed


4 of 10

how fast something is moving
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collision


5 of 10

when one object hits or crashes into another object
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energy transfer


6 of 10

when energy travels from one place to another
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sound energy


7 of 10

energy that is in the form of sound that can be heard
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experiment


8 of 10

a test used to discover new information about a question
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model


9 of 10

a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with
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trials


10 of 10

repeated tests in an experiment
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Lesson narration:

Activity Prep

Print Prep

THIS LESSON WAS REVISED ON JULY 1, 2019. Here is a link to the previous version.
In this lesson, students explore how energy can be stored as height. In the activity, Bumper Coasters (Part I), students build paper roller coasters. Students release marbles down the roller coaster track to understand height energy and energy transfer.

Preview activity

Exploration

12 mins

Wrap-Up

3 mins

Extend this lesson