Wild ride. (Science Spin).(roller coasters)

Read, Think, & Discuss

* Ask students to define force. Write their definitions on the board, and refer to them after students have finished reading the story on page 2.

* Ask students if they have ever ridden a roller coaster. Then ask how roller coasters work.

Background

* Many modern roller coasters are pulled to the top of their first hill by powerful magnets rather than by the metal chains used with older masters.

* As a roller coaster climbs a hill, it gains potential energy--energy that is stored.

* When gravity forces the coaster to plummet down the other side of the hill, its potential energy converts to kinetic energy (the energy of movement).

* As the coaster zooms down the hill, its velocity (speed of an object in a given direction) increases, or accelerates.

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