Post created by: Sharon
When thinking of a roller coaster, what comes to mind is usually going up giant hills and speeding down steep drops. This is thrilling, but which car in the roller coaster train will provide you with the best experience of this feature? It comes down to the forces acting on each car.
The cars are pulled on by chains in the track at first until they reach the top of the first hill. During this ascent, their potential energy increases. When the first car tips over the threshold of the hill, gravity pulls it down the hill (along with the rest of the cars behind it) and their potential energy is converted to kinetic energy which keeps its momentum moving forward. This energy transformation continues for every hill in the track.
When going over the hill, the first car in the train is pulled down the hill by gravity and is pushed by the cars behind it. The middle cars are pushed by the cars behind them and pulled by the cars in front of them, and the last car is pulled on by all of the cars in front of it. Because all of the cars in front of the last car are experiencing the downward acceleration first and are building up speed, the last car is pulled over the top of the hill with the most force and velocity. This is what causes the feeling of being whipped over the top of the hill and the experience of momentary weightlessness.
So, when you're picking a place to sit on a roller coaster and you're looking for the fastest,
most-forces-pulling-on-you experience, choose the last car. It will help you get the most out of every hill.
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