Hershey park/ Physics day Problems

[ariol]

Hershey park/ Physics day Problems- Help please.

Hi, I recently went on a trip with my class to hershey park on physics day and we were given this packet (the link is below) to solve problems for bonus points. If anyone could help me out that would be great. I have already done the sidewinder, but some of the other ones are quite hard. Thanks.

http://www.hersheypark.com/groups/pdf/physics.pdf

Okay for the comet, I have made it this far:

(Section one)

a.) For the total energy at the top I calculated EP=m*g*http://www.symbols.com/pics/small/28/2801.gif h=1.0*10^2[/URL] Joules

b.) For the time I got 2.7 seconds
Velocity= length of the train/time=14.51 m/s
Ek=.5*m*v^2=37105.9 Joules

c.) Er=Ep+Ex= 1,037,105.9 Joules

(section two)

t=1.6 seconds
v= train lenght/time= m/s
Ek=.5*m*v^2= 124,443.9 Joules

I'm not sure how to figure out some of the second page of Comet ones. Especially how to graph the potential energy.

 

[Doc Al]

Pick a problem, show us your work and where you got stuck, and you'll get plenty of help. (I'll move this to Intro Physics, where such questions belong.)

 

[nlightner]

Hi there! It sounds like you've made some good progress on the Comet problem. To graph the potential energy, you can plot the height on the x-axis and the potential energy on the y-axis. The equation for potential energy is EP=mgh, where m is the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2), and h is the height. So for each height, you can calculate the potential energy and plot it on the graph. Then, you can connect the points to create a smooth curve.

As for the other problems, it's important to remember the basic principles of physics such as conservation of energy and Newton's laws of motion. It may also be helpful to break down the problems into smaller parts and use equations that you have already learned. Don't be afraid to ask your teacher or classmates for help, as working together can often lead to a better understanding of the material. Good luck!