The Tube Coaster Bailey Hood & Chase Moore

Device Design Materials Used 3 sheets ½ x ½ meter pegboard 1 sheet ½ x ½ meter plywood 6 feet rubber tubing twine funnel steel slingshot ball washers

Stored Energy Potential Gravitation Energy – Ball has PGE because it starts from rest at.55 meter above ground. Calculating PGE – PGE = mgh – Mass = 3 g – Height =.55 m PGE = (.012)*(9.81)*(.55) = 0.02 J Conversion of PGE to Kinetic Energy – The conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy is what drives the roller coaster, and all of the kinetic energy needed is present once the ball starts to descend the first hill. Energy after run – After the ball has completed its run, PGE will be zero and only a small amount of kinetic energy will remain due to the energy lost during the run.

Design & Construction Issues Staying within budget – Many good ideas cost too much due to materials – Finding low-cost, high-efficiency materials proved to be challenging Meeting time requirements – After assembling track, many adjustments had to be made to meet the time requirement of 15 seconds Finding right car – Many tests runs used to find right size and weight ball for optimal performance

Conclusions Success Coaster ran successfully in practice trials Learned Choice of materials are important Sold pre-construction plan is a necessity Problems Shape of tubing was irregular Difficulty with track construction Lots of trial and error Possible Improvements– Better choice of materials More time developing design