14-18 yrs old
Math & Economics
Students plan and create their roller coasters and must evidence of different types of slope and use of rise over run.
March 10, 2017
Roller Coaster Lab
The guidelines and requirements of this math lab.
How does the concept of slope affect the making of a roller coaster?
How does rise over run relate to slope?
What different types of slope can you find?
Your team has decided to bid on a contract to design a roller coaster for a new theme park. The park owners want to build a rollercoaster that includes ups and downs from gradual to steep. As part of your bid for the contract, your team will present a design for the rollercoaster that will include three levels of slope designed from mild, exciting, and extreme.
Part 1 – Planning (10 Marks) - Sketch out a rollercoaster with at least three ‘bumps’ with different slopes (3 Marks) - Figure out the potential slope of each ‘bump’ (6 marks) - What are some of the challenges / problems you think may happen (1 Mark)
Part 2 – Construction (25 Marks) - Test and Tweak potential slopes (3 x 5 marks) - Use signs to show slopes of at least three different ‘bumps’ (3 x 2 marks) - Will it work (4 marks)
Part 3 – Analysis (10 Marks) - What problems occurred when building your rollercoaster? (2 Marks) - How did you solve them? (4 Marks) - How did different slopes effect the ride? (2 Marks) - What did you learn about slope? (2 Marks) Create an Office Mix Screencast and answer all questions on the screen cast plus take us on a ‘ride.