Explain why the top of the loop cannot be the same height as (or higher than) the top of the first hill. Assume the roller coast
er and its surroundings are close to a closed system. Use what you know about energy transformations and the effects of friction within a closed system to write your answer.
Passage
Examine this diagram of a roller-coaster track. The very top of the first hill (point B) is higher than the very top of the loop (point D). After the cars reach point B, this roller coaster needs no additional energy to complete its trip.
Passage
Examine this diagram of a roller-coaster track. The very top of the first hill (point B) is higher than the very top of the loop (point D). After the cars reach point B, this roller coaster needs no additional energy to complete its trip.
2 answers:
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Answer:
The mass of the object involved and the value of the gravitational acceleration
Explanation:
- Gravitational potential energy is defined as the energy possessed by an object in a gravitational field due to its position with respect to the ground:
where m is the mass of the object, g is the gravitational acceleration and h is the heigth of the object with respect to the ground.
- Elastic potential energy is defined as the energy possessed by an elastic object and it is given as:
where k is the spring constant of the elastic object, while x is the compression/stretching of the spring with respect to the equilibrium position.
As we can see from the equations, both types of energy depends on the relative position of the object/end of the spring with respect to a certain reference position (h in the first formula, x in the second formula), but gravitational potential energy also depends on m (the mass) and g (the gravitational acceleration) while the elastic energy does not.