You will soon explore how the energy in one form transfer to another for due to the Law of Conservation of Energy. In a roller coaster, this means that the gravitational potential energy at the top of the first hill transforms into all kinetic energy at the bottom (ignoring friction, of course). Before we get there, let's practice calculating the kinetic energy in the roller coasters mentioned before.

In the matching activity below, you will see the maximum velocities of the top 10 roller coasters in the U.S. If the loaded roller coaster car is 8350 kg, calculate the kinetic energy of that loaded car at the maximum velocity given.

52.22 m/s

50.12 m

49.82 m

44.09 m

43.06 m

42.06 m

38.28 m

37.39 m

37.25 m

37.09 m

1.138 x 10⁷ J

1.049 x 10⁷ J

1.036 x 10⁷ J

8.116 x 10⁶ J

7.741 x 10⁶ J

7.385 x 10⁶ J

6.118 x 10⁶ J

5.837 x 10⁶ J

5.793 x 10⁶ J

5.743 x 10⁶ J

Directions

To match items, click or tap an item in the left column and then click or tap its match in the right column. If you change your mind, make a different choice. Once you have matched all items, click "Check Answers" to see how you did. Click "Reset" to try again.

Check Answers

Reset

Great job!