4-8-09

In Mr. Manning's Physics class on April 8th the students had the period to work on their Design-a-ride Projects. The project requires a number of requirements:

1. Circular motion and projectile motion components are required (The respective speeds and accelerations must insure the safety of the passengers). 2. A model should be designed. A physical or hand-drawn model is acceptable and important points on the ride must be labeled. Computer programs like CAD can not be used to design the ride. More points will be given to a group that produces a physical model of their ride as opposed to a drawing. 3. For the projectile motion component, the speed at which the ride is launched should be considered. ( Either horizontally or at an angle). 4. For circular motion, the speed, centripetal force and acceleration should be calculated. 5. The kinetic and potential energies for the ride should be calculated. 6. A graph should be made for one portion of the ride. An example of some possible graphs are speed vs. time, kinetic energy vs. time, and kinetic or potential energy.



My partner and I are building a water ride with a sailor theme. The projectile motion component consists of an individual rider being launched horizontally into the water at the end of the ride.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind the Conservation of Energy throughout the ride. Since energy is neither created or destroyed, you are able to calculate the speed of your ride by calculating the kinetic energy.