The Rollercoaster Project
In this project, our 2-3 person groups were required to build a rollercoaster using a large plywood base, wooden dowels for support, and a form of plastic called polystyrene, to use as a track. The cars that would run on the track were built out of balsa wood and wheels from model trains. The car itself was called a Wally.
Exhibition Demonstration
Along with the exhibition of the rollercoaster, a demonstration of the physics concept each group was assigned to study, was also required. My partner and I chose Gravity, because we thought it would be the easiest of the 5 concepts to study. For our demonstration, I stood on the Catwalk, above the Main Commons, and held two different massed balls, and dropped them to show that gravity is proportional to the objects depending on their mass. On the Ground, my partner, Jovany, explained why they hit the ground at the same time. Many balls were dropped that day.
Six Flags
During the project, to "study" the physics behind rollercoasters, we took a bus to Six Flags: Magic Mountain to "do" a sheet of "work" while we were there. I had a blast doing "work", "counting stairs" on the ride up and "using" a timer between the top and bottom of a hill. A very, very, very, very, small percentage of people did work that day. My favorite ride to "study" was Goliath, the tallest rollercoaster in southern California.
Effort
I believe the efforts were shared pretty equally between Jovany and I. Some days, I did a lot of the work, and others he did, and some we both worked together to get a lot done in one day.