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Is acceleration constant on a roller coaster?

The acceleration along the track is always equal for every car, but for each car that acceleration aligns with the hills/gravity in different ways. As the front car crests a hill, the coaster is decelerating; the front car is being pulled backward by the other cars.



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The acceleration along the track is always equal for every car, but for each car that acceleration aligns with the hills/gravity in different ways. As the front car crests a hill, the coaster is decelerating; the front car is being pulled backward by the other cars.

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The thrill of roller coasters is not due to their speed, but rather due to their accelerations and to the feelings of weightlessness and weightiness that they produce.

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Basic mathematical subjects such as calculus help determine the height needed to allow the car to get up the next hill, the maximum speed, and the angles of ascent and descent. These calculations also help make sure that the roller coaster is safe. No doubt about it--math keeps you on track.

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Most roller coasters run by the Law of Inertia. Since an object at rest stays at rest, all roller coasters have to be pushed or pulled to get started. The student's roller coaster started at the top of a big hill. At the top, the marble has the largest amount of gravitational potential energy.

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Roller coasters have no engines. Essentially a roller coaster is a gravity-powered train. The movement of a roller coaster is accomplished by the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy.

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