El Dorado Middle School seventh grade Science students created roller coasters for their final project on the potential and kinetic energy unit in February.
Students chose whether to work alone or with a group to create a roller coaster using paper and tape. Each design had to incorporate at least two features: turn, spiral, funnel, or loop. Once constructed, students had to demonstrate three successful trial runs using a marble to test their roller coaster’s track.
To wrap up the project, students wrote a short paragraph to describe the journey of the marble as it moved through the track as it related to various phases of energy. They also sketched their roller coaster and labeled each section to identify areas of high and low energy.
