Amusement Park Physics - Coasters

The following lessons illustrate the forces on the occupants of various amusement park rides.

Looping Coaster 
[side view at top]
[side view at side]
[side view at bottom]		 cyclone3[1].gif (22784 bytes)
Suspended Coaster
Going around a curve
[front view] 
[overhead view]
Flat Turns
[front view]
[overhead view]
Banked Turns
[front view]
[overhead view]
Bobsled  (oval shaped banked track)
[overhead view]
[front view]		 bobsled.jpg (45025 bytes)
Going down a hill
[side view top to bottom]		  
Going up a hill
[side view bottom to top]		  

Photos courtesy Joe Schwartz, used with permission

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