written by Clarence Bakken

These materials, offered for free download, were written to supplement the book Amusement Park Physics, 2nd Edition, by Clarence Bakken. They include descriptions of contests, projects, and demonstrations on teaching physics through amusement park rides. Users will also find a set of short histories of Physics Day at four amusement parks that provide example data taken by students, a Power Point presentation on vertical loops in roller coaster rides, and ideas for optimizing the experience for teachers and learners.

The Amusement Park Physics book will be available from the AAPT store in the Spring of 2011.

• Download AmusParkPhys-TOC.pdf - 60kb Adobe PDF Document

Last Modified April 19, 2011

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This file contains additional information on different contests and projects one might do that are related to amusement parks and Physics Day. Some rules and judging rubrics are included that users may find worthwhile.

• Download APPcontests.pdf - 736kb Adobe PDF Document

Released under a Free for non-commercial use.

Published April 16, 2011
Last Modified February 24, 2016

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This file provides information on demonstrations of physics principles related to amusement park attractions. In many instances, building details and instructions on how to carry out the demonstrations are included.

• Download APPdemos.pdf - 1973kb Adobe PDF Document

Released under a Free for non-commercial use.

Published April 16, 2011
Last Modified February 24, 2016

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This file contains short histories of Physics Day at four different amusement parks. Ideas from these histories could be useful in generating stronger Physics Days at parks that are looking to improve their event.

• Download APPhistory.pdf - 231kb Adobe PDF Document

Released under a Free for non-commercial use.

Published April 16, 2011
Last Modified February 24, 2016

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This zip archive contains example files that model the motion of a "scrambler" ride at the amusement park. The available formats are Excel and Logger Pro. Students are encouraged to modify these examples to explore the relationship between the model and data collected on the ride.

• Download ScramblerModels.zip - 59kb Compressed File

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Published April 16, 2011
Last Modified February 24, 2016

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This archive file contains the four graphs included in the Analyzing Data section of the Amusement Park Physics handbook in jpg format. They can be pasted into word processor or presentation programs as needed.

• Download shuttlegraphs.zip - 326kb Compressed File

Released under a Free for non-commercial use.

Published April 16, 2011
Last Modified February 24, 2016

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This file has previous versions.

This Powerpoint presentation covers the forces and energy relationships in a vertical loop portion of a roller coaster.

• Download VertLoop.ppt - 349kb Powerpoint Document

Released under a Free for non-commercial uses.

Published April 16, 2011
Last Modified February 24, 2016

This file has previous versions.