Eric Collins, Ted Dorris, Drew Ellis, and Will Glass

 The goal of our project was to design a rollercoaster that transports a “vehicle” from a certain start to a designated finish.  Our rollercoaster is a continuous downward ramp that spirals outwards as it goes down.  The “vehicle” is a small glass marble.  The rollercoaster relies on gravity for operation.  Supplies include: poster board, tape, marbles, and a plastic spiral Christmas tree.

 The track was constructed by attaching L- shaped strips of poster board to the outside of the existing tree structure.  The poster board edge would keep the marble on the track because of its tangential acceleration.  Operation:  The marble is placed on the track at the top of the structure, and it rolls down the continuous decline to the bottom.

 Throughout its travel, the marble encounters friction on the track’s surface and on its side.  Because the track is an incline, the marble converts initial potential energy to kinetic energy at the end of the run.  Because the track is in the shape of a spiral, the marble is subjected to tangential acceleration.

 Our rollercoaster was successful in carrying a “vehicle” from a starting point to a certain finish.  Potential sources of error include: slightly inconsistent decline of the track, and roughness of the track edges.  Each member of the team put in equal amounts of time and work into this project, and made equal contributions.