Roller Coaster Designer

Set the heights of the hills, release the car and watch the energy bars as it swoops along the track.

Height
29.4 m
Speed
0.0 m/s · 0 km/h
Potential energy
144.4 kJ
Kinetic energy
0.0 kJ

The maths, live

Potential PE = m × g × hPE = 500 × 9.81 × 29.4 = 144.4 kJ
Kinetic KE = ½ × m × v²KE = ½ × 500 × 0.0² = 0.0 kJ
Energy is conserved PE + KE + heat = total144.4 + 0.0 + 0.0 = 144.4 kJ

Can the car get over a second hill that is taller than where it started? Add friction and try again.

How it works

At the top of a hill the car has lots of gravitational potential energy (PE = m × g × h). As it rolls down, that energy turns into kinetic energy, the energy of movement (KE = ½ × m × v²).

Energy can't be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. Without friction PE + KE stays the same, so the car can never climb higher than where it started. With friction, some energy turns into heat.

Try this

  1. Make the second hill taller than the start. Can the car get over it?
  2. Where on the track is the car fastest?
  3. Add friction. How high can the second hill be now?