Answer:
1: On a roller coaster, energy changes from potential to kinetic energy and back again many times over the course of a ride. ... All moving objects possess kinetic energy, which is determined by the mass and speed of the object. Potential energy is the energy an object has as a result of its position.
2:The concept of potential energy, often referred to as energy of position, is very simple: As the coaster gets higher in the air, gravity can pull it down a greater distance. You experience this phenomenon all the time. Think about driving your car, riding your bike or pulling your sled to the top of a big hill. The potential energy you build going up the hill can be released as kinetic energy — the energy of motion that takes you down the hill.
3:On the oldest roller coasters, the first hill (also known as the “lift hill”) was always the tallest, so as to exploit its potential energy, which is the product of the train’s mass, the standard acceleration of gravity on Earth (9.8 meters per second squared), and the height of the hill. Potential energy is invested in objects based on their position in a system—in this case, in a gravitational field.
