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Roller Coaster Physics — Reading Comprehension

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The Roller Coaster Physics reading passage is a fascinating resource for fourth-grade students, designed to explain the key scientific principles behind a thrilling roller coaster ride. Aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Disciplinary Core Concept PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer, the passage uses the relatable example of a roller coaster to illustrate how potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. It explains how a car gains potential energy as it is pulled up a hill and then converts that stored energy into motion as it races down. The text also touches on how some energy is lost to sound and heat, which is why the first hill must be the tallest. The included assessment, with multiple-choice questions at three different Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels, ensures that students not only recall key terms but also apply their understanding to new scenarios.

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Roller Coaster Physics

Roller coasters are thrilling examples of science at work. When you ride a roller coaster, you are experiencing the exciting journey of energy transformation. This means energy changes from one form to another—from potential energy to kinetic energy and back again.

The ride begins when a chain lift or motor pulls the cars up the first big hill. The higher you go, the more potential energy the cars gain. Potential energy is stored energy, like money saved in a piggy bank. At the very top, the cars have the most potential energy and are ready to spend it all!

As the cars race down the hill, the stored energy changes into kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion. The cars move fastest at the bottom of the first hill because all that stored energy has become motion. When the cars go up the next hill, some kinetic energy turns back into potential energy, so the cars slow down.

This back-and-forth exchange of energy continues as the coaster goes over hills and through twists. The first hill is always the tallest. That’s because the chain lift only gives energy at the start. The rest of the ride relies on gravity and momentum to keep going, but some energy is lost to friction between the wheels and track, and to the air. That’s why each hill after the first is a little smaller!

Other forces help make the ride exciting. Gravity pulls the cars down. Inertia keeps the cars moving, and centripetal force keeps riders safely in loops and turns. When you feel heavy at the bottom of a hill or light at the top, you are feeling G-forces.

Engineers plan every part of a roller coaster, calculating how much energy is needed for every twist and turn. Safety bars and careful design protect riders throughout the ride.

A roller coaster is like a giant energy piggy bank—you fill it up on the first hill and spend it bit by bit on each exciting drop!

Interesting Fact: The world’s fastest roller coaster can go over 149 miles per hour—almost as fast as a race car!

What gives cars potential energy?

Chain lift or motorFrictionLoopsAir

What is kinetic energy?

Stored energySlowing forceMoving energySafety bar

Why are hills smaller after the first?

Less energy from frictionEngineers want it shortCars are lighterGravity is stronger

What force keeps you in loops?

FrictionCentripetal forceMomentumPotential energy

What happens at the top of the first hill?

Maximum potential energyMaximum kinetic energyNo gravityNo energy