I have to build a roller coaster with 3 hills. Hill A is 15 inches high,it drops down to 3 inches, rises to 8 inches, drops again to 5 inches and rises a last time to 3 inches before dropping off. My question is when using a tennis ball as the car..
1. What is the initial velocity of the tennis ball at the moment of its released at the top of the track? Use this insight to calculate the initial kinetic and potential energy
2. Calculate the amount of gravitationAL potential energy at the top of each hill and at the bottom of each valley. Be sure to convert your distance measurements to meters. Use an approximate value of 58.0 g. for the mass of the tennis ball, and 9.81 m/s ^2 as the excelleration due to gravity.
3. Suppose that the force due to friction is negligible. What can you say about the total energy of the tennis ball? Continue to assume that the force due to friction is negligible. Use the information you've gathered to calculate the kinetic energy and the total energy at each location. Describe the relationship between the potential and Kinetic energy of the tennis ball as it travels the length of the roller coaster.
5. Compare your answer to the previous question with your observations in conducting this experiment. Discuss weather energy was conserved in your experiment. Was friction negligible?
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