Is a roller coaster hanging at the top of the drop kinetic or potential?

A chain hauls the train to the top of the first, highest hill. From the moment of the initial plunge, gravity is responsible for moving the train. At the top of the hill, the train has potential energy (think of potential energy as energy about to happen, e.g. a coiled spring).



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The potential energy of the roller coaster when it is at the top of a hill is converted into kinetic energy as the roller coaster speeds down the hill. As the roller coaster goes up another hill, it slows down. The kinetic energy is converted into potential energy.

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= 0 down (-) up (+) Page 2 At the top of the loop, the only forces ac ng on the rollercoaster are the normal force exerted by the track and the weight of the rollercoaster. If the rollercoaster is about to fall off, then the normal force must equal zero.

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The roller coaster loses potential energy as it goes downhill. We neglect friction, so that the remaining force exerted by the track is the normal force, which is perpendicular to the direction of motion and does no work. The net work on the roller coaster is then done by gravity alone.

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The maximum kinetic energy generated is when the roller coaster is at the bottom of the track. When it begins to go up, the kinetic energy converts to potential energy.

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Kinetic energy - the energy of motion - is dependent upon the mass of the object and the speed of the object. The train of coaster cars speeds up as they lose height. Thus, their original potential energy (due to their large height) is transformed into kinetic energy (revealed by their high speeds).

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A roller coaster ride comes to an end. Magnets on the train induce eddy currents in the braking fins, giving a smooth rise in braking force as the remaining kinetic energy is absorbed by the brakes and converted to thermal energy.

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In a roller coaster loop, riders are pushed inwards toward the center of the loop by forces resulting from the car seat (at the loop's bottom) and by gravity (at the loop's top). Energy comes in many forms. The two most important forms for amusement park rides are kinetic energy and potential energy.

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