Have you ever wondered what it’s like to ride one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world? Imagine sitting in a roller coaster car, hanging at the edge before a big drop. Sounds exciting, right? But here’s a question: why don’t people fall out when the roller coaster goes upside down?
Roller coasters like Valravn are special because they have huge drops and can even flip you upside down. Ethan, a curious kid, asked why people don’t fall out during these flips. To answer this, Doug called Jay Flores, an engineer who knows a lot about roller coasters.
Jay loves roller coasters and recently rode Valravn, which goes upside down three times! There are other coasters like The Incredible Hulk Coaster and the Steel Curtain that have loops and corkscrews, flipping riders upside down multiple times. But how do people stay in their seats?
When you tip a bowl of cereal upside down, everything falls out because of gravity. Gravity pulls everything towards the Earth. So, when you’re upside down on a roller coaster, shouldn’t gravity pull you out of the car?
Roller coasters have special seat belts and are attached to the track to keep you safe. But here’s something cool: even without a seatbelt, you might still stay in your seat when going upside down. How is that possible?
Try this experiment: fill a bucket with water and spin it in a circle. If you spin it fast enough, the water stays in the bucket. But if you spin it slowly, the water falls out. This is because when you spin the bucket fast, the water is pressed against the bottom of the bucket, stronger than gravity’s pull.
When you’re on a roller coaster going upside down, you feel pressed into your seat. This force keeps you from falling out. It’s like the water in the bucket experiment. The faster the roller coaster goes, the stronger the force pressing you into your seat.
Even though this force helps keep you in your seat, it’s important to always wear your seatbelt on a roller coaster for extra safety. So next time you’re on a roller coaster, remember the science that’s keeping you safe!
Thanks to Ethan for asking such a great question! There are always more mysteries to explore, like how rubber is made, why people sneeze, or how jellyfish sting. Keep asking questions and stay curious!
Gather some materials like cardboard tubes, marbles, and tape. Create your own mini roller coaster track. As you build, think about how the loops and drops will affect the marble. Will it stay on the track? Test it out and see how gravity and speed work together to keep the marble moving.
Try the bucket experiment mentioned in the article. Fill a bucket with water and carefully spin it in a circle. Notice how the water stays in the bucket when you spin it fast enough. Discuss with your classmates how this relates to the forces you experience on a roller coaster.
Using materials like fabric, Velcro, and cardboard, design a safety harness for a toy figure. Think about how real roller coaster harnesses work to keep people safe. Test your design by attaching the figure to a small moving cart and see if it stays secure during loops and turns.
Create a quiz for your classmates about gravity and the forces at play on a roller coaster. Include questions about why people don’t fall out when upside down and the role of seatbelts. Exchange quizzes with a partner and see who can get the most answers right!
Imagine you are a reporter. Write down questions you would ask a roller coaster engineer about how they design rides to keep people safe. Share your questions with the class and discuss what you think the answers might be based on what you’ve learned.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone ringing) – Hi, it’s Doug. You’re about to find out what it’s like to ride Valravn, one of the tallest and fastest dive roller coasters in the world. See how the car just hangs there before going over the edge? Are you getting a little nervous? Dive coasters like Valravn are special types of steel roller coasters that drop straight down in a free-fall like this. Whoa, that’s a huge drop. Someone named Ethan has a question about roller coasters. Let’s give Ethan a call now. (phone ringing) – Hi, Doug. – Hi, Ethan. – I have a question for you. Why don’t people fall out of roller coasters when they go upside down? – Oh, that’s a great question. And I know the perfect person to answer it. His name is Jay Flores, and he’s an engineer who knows a lot about this subject. In fact, Jay is going to be helping me answer questions regularly this year. Not only is he an engineer, but he has a lot of experience helping people better understand how things work. And personally, I think he’s really good at it. Let’s find out what Jay has to say about this question. (phone ringing) – Hi, Doug. I’m really excited about this question. I love roller coasters. I actually got to ride Valravn recently, and it was so much fun, especially when it goes upside down. Valravn actually goes upside down three times. It was so cool. It’s amazing how roller coaster tracks can twist in all sorts of different shapes. Like check this one out. (people screaming) This is The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Islands of Adventure in Florida. It has two loops and two corkscrews. A corkscrew is when the roller coaster twirls you around like this. And check this one out. If you’re the kind of person that really likes loops and corkscrews, you would love the Steel Curtain. It flips you upside down an incredible nine times. Think about that for a second. When you tip something upside down, like a bowl of cereal or a cup of water, what happens to it? (cereal clattering) It all spills out, right? That’s because of the force of gravity, something you’ve probably heard of. Gravity pulls everything down towards the earth, like all those Cheerios you just spilled. So if you’re going upside down nine times, like on the Steel Curtain, how do you not fall out? I mean, you’re hanging upside down. Shouldn’t gravity be pulling you out of the car? Before we go on, I’m curious. What do you think? Why don’t people fall out of roller coasters when they go upside down? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss. Okay, are you ready? You might have thought about the fact that roller coasters have special seat belts, and you’re right, they do. Or maybe you’ve even noticed that a roller coaster itself is attached to the track, so you won’t fall off either. Having seat belts and attaching the roller coaster cars to the track itself are important safety precautions that make extra sure no one gets injured when doing a loop. But what if I told you that even without a seatbelt, we would probably still stay in the car when racing upside down? And not only that, what if I told you that the roller coaster train itself probably wouldn’t fall off the track either, even if it wasn’t attached? Would you believe me? Well, check out this real-life car doing a loop. (car engines roaring) It’s not attached to anything, and it’s not falling. How is this even possible? Doesn’t the car have to be attached to the loop? Why doesn’t it fall once it’s at the top? There’s an experiment you can try sometime on your own, which can help you see the answer for yourself. Find a bucket with a handle and fill it with water. Now, this part you might need an adult’s help with as the bucket will be heavy. Ask them to spin the bucket in a circle like this, just like the loop on a roller coaster. Spin it fast like this and no water falls out. But what happens if you spin it slower? Ha ha, you get really wet. All the water falls out. It’s kind of like a jump rope. When you spin it really fast, it stays over your head. But when you spin it too slow, it falls. So speed clearly has something to do with it. If the roller coaster weren’t going fast enough, it seems like the riders would fall out like the water did. But what is it about speed that keeps the water in the bucket? How is it possible that the water isn’t getting pulled out of the bucket by gravity? As you start to spin the bucket in a loop, the water starts to move forward and get pressed against the inside of the bucket. By the time you get the bucket over your head, the water is being pressed against the inside bottom of the bucket, which is opposite the direction from gravity. At the moment you’ve got the bucket right over the top of your head, it’s not that gravity isn’t pulling down on the water. Gravity is still there and pulling. But as you’re spinning the bucket fast enough, the water is being pressed to the inside of the bucket. And the strength of that pressure is stronger than the pull of gravity, so the water stays in the bucket. The faster you spin the bucket, the stronger the pressure is. But if you were to spin the bucket more slowly, once the bucket got above your head, the pull of gravity would win out and you would be a wet mess. If you’ve ever gone upside down on a roller coaster, you’ve probably felt as if you were getting pressed into your seat. It’s pretty awesome. So in summary, riders don’t fall out of roller coasters when they go upside down because riders get pressed into their seats when a roller coaster spins in a loop. If you’re pressed into your seat, you don’t fall out. But remember, even if that force is going to keep you in your seat, it’s still really important to always wear your seat restraint when you’re riding a roller coaster to be extra safe. That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Ethan, for asking it. – [Doug] Now, for the next episode, I reached into our question jar and picked out three questions sent into us that we’re thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from how is rubber made? Why do people sneeze? Or how do jellyfish sting? So submit your vote when the video is over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you next week.
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Roller Coasters – A type of amusement ride that uses a track with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions to create excitement and thrills. – Roller coasters use the principles of physics to give riders a thrilling experience with high speeds and sharp turns.
Gravity – A natural force that pulls objects toward each other, especially the force that makes things fall to the ground on Earth. – Gravity is what keeps us on the ground and makes roller coasters come back down after going up a hill.
Force – A push or pull on an object that can cause it to change speed or direction. – The force of the wind can make a roller coaster car slow down as it moves along the track.
Safety – The condition of being protected from danger or harm, especially when using machines or equipment. – Engineers design roller coasters with many safety features to ensure that riders are secure during the ride.
Seatbelt – A strap or belt used to secure a person in a seat, especially in vehicles or rides, to keep them safe. – Before the roller coaster starts, everyone must fasten their seatbelt to stay safe during the ride.
Experiment – A test or trial conducted to discover something unknown or to test a hypothesis. – In science class, we did an experiment to see how different materials affect the speed of a rolling ball.
Upside Down – In a position where the top is turned to the bottom. – Some roller coasters have sections where the cars go upside down, making the ride even more exciting.
Loops – Circular or oval paths that a roller coaster car can travel through, often turning riders upside down. – The roller coaster had two big loops that made everyone scream with excitement.
Corkscrews – Spiral-shaped turns on a roller coaster that twist the track and the riders in a corkscrew motion. – The corkscrews on the roller coaster made it feel like we were spinning through the air.
Curious – Eager to learn or know more about something. – The curious students asked many questions about how roller coasters are designed to be both fun and safe.
