probably related to the centuries-old, ritualistic practices of the "land divers" of Pentecost Island in the S Pacific. In rites of passage, young men jump hundreds of feet, protected only by tree vines attached to their ankles 1. Where does the biggest hill occur in a roller-coaster ride: the beginning, the middle or the end? Does it actually matter where the biggest hill occurs? 2. How many safety features can you think of that are incorporated into your favourite ride? 3. What do we mean by the term g-force? How many gs can the human body withstand safely? 4. Roller-coaster carriages dont have a motor. How can a roller-coaster travel so fast? 5. Who will swing faster on a playground swing: a light person or a heavy person? 6. On a loop ride, where do you feel the lightest? 7. Why do some people get sick on rides? Are some rides worse than others? 8. Why is it difficult to lift your arms and legs when you are on a rotor ride? 9. How slippery does the surface of a slippery slide need to be? Why do some people get stuck part of the way down? 10. What elements of a roller-coasters design give an exciting ride? By manipulating the characteristics of gravity, periodic motion and speed, these engineers use physics to trick the body into thinking that it is in a lot more trouble than it really is. Mass changes the time of travel for an object in free fall
a feather and a hammer dropped from the same height in vacuum will hit the ground at same time
a feather and a hammer dropped from the same height from the top of a tower will hit the ground at the same time An object with large area will experience small air resistance True or false
In 1971, Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott dropped a hammer and a feather from the same height while standing on the surface of the Moon. The hammer and the feather fell at the same rate and hit the ground at the same time. So much for the whole heavy objects fall faster than light ones argument! The Moon has too little gravity to hold a thick atmosphere around it like the Earth does, so the hammer and the feather both fell without encountering enough particles to cause any measurable resistance. Something to think How fast will a ball be travelling when it strikes the ground if it is dropped from a height of 100 m and there is no air resistance? How fast would a coin dropped from a height of 3 km be travelling when it hit the ground if there was no atmosphere? An objects momentum is the product of its mass and its velocity. Impulse is the change in momentum of an object. It equals the product of a force and the time interval over which the force acts. Momentum and impulse Cricket players, often break their fingers when they catch a ball that is travelling very quickly. The speed of the ball is reduced to zero in a very short time period, causing a large net force to act on the hand. To catch a fast ball safely, it is necessary to allow the hand to continue moving in the same direction as the ball while you bring it to rest. This has the effect of increasing the time interval over which the ball is stopped, which in turn decreases the average net force acting on your hand. Impulse and sports safety
The thick mats used by gymnasts and high jumpers, the catchers mitts used by ball players and even the thick soles on a pair of running shoes all serve the same purpose.
They increase the time interval over which a moving object is brought to rest and so reduce the average net force acting on the human body. A putter exerts a force of 8 N for a time interval of 0.01 s on a golf ball at rest on the green. With what velocity will the ball leave the putter if the ball has a mass of 50 g? What is the impulse of a 200 g ball that is initially at rest on the ground but travels at 5 m s1 when kicked? A 70 kg basketball player lands on the ground after a jump at a speed of 10 m/s and is brought to a stop by the ground in 0.35 s. What is the average force exerted on her by the ground?
A 60 kg trampolinist jumps straight up in the air by exerting an average force of 1060 N on the trampoline bed for a time of 0.5 s. (a) What is the impulse of the trampolinist on the trampoline? (b) At what speed does he leave the trampoline? (c) What will be the maximum height that he reaches?
In a billiards game, the white ball is travelling at a speed of 3 m s1 when it strikes the yellow ball, which is initially at rest. If the white ball is slowed to a speed of 0.5 m s1 after the collision, what will be the speed of the yellow ball? (Assume that the two balls have the same mass.)
A .22 rifle that has a mass of 4.6 kg recoils backwards at a speed of 0.6 m s1 when it fires a 3.6 g bullet. At what speed did the bullet leave the barrel (ignoring the frictional effects of the barrel)? A 160 g cricket ball is accelerated from rest by a force of 18 N acting on it for 0.15 s. Calculate: (a) the change in momentum experienced by the ball (b) the acceleration experienced by the ball. Assuming that the track is frictionless, calculate the speed of a 3000 kg roller-coaster at: (a) B (b) C (c) D At which point the speed will be the highest?
P.E converts into K.E as you travel from the top of a hill As there is no further energy provided to the system, the amount of potential energy that the roller-coaster initially gained will, ideally, be equal in value to the total amount of energy it will have at any moment in its path. But in real life what happens to energy there is friction between the track and the wheels Roller-coasters The total momentum before collision must be equal to the momentum after collision. Momentum is not lost, but is transferred between the members of the system.
Whenever a bat hits a cricket ball, a football player kicks a football, or one football player collides with another, momentum is transferred. Conservation of momentum Two players are running to catch a ball from opposite directions and end up colliding. One has a mass of 110 kg, was running at 4 m/s when he collided with second person, who has a mass of 80 kg and an initial speed of 5 m/s. If second person ends up bouncing backwards at a speed of 2 m s1, what will first persons velocity be after the collision? Roller-coasters, tracks and steel may be able to withstand sustained exposure to high g-forces, the human body can not.
Accelerations of up to 4g are generally tolerated by the average human body for short periods of time (less than a second), but sustained exposure may lead to difficulties in breathing and loss of consciousness, as blood is pulled away from the head.