Table of Contents

Kick Off Questions

In this week's notes, we covered

  1. In this week's notes, we covered non-uniform circular motion. However, even when the overall circular motion is non-uniform the motion at specific instances can be treated as UCM. What is the relationship between the net force acting on an object, $\vec{F}_{net}$ and the momentum of the object, $\vec{p}$ that will allow us to use UCM instantaneously?
  2. Consider a marble rolling with constant velocity on a horizontal track. The marble then enters a vertical, circular loop with sufficient speed to stay on the track and complete the vertical circle. While the marble is on this vertical circular part of the track, where can we use UCM and why? Also, where is it not appropriate to use UCM and why?

Project 6: Part A: Six Flags over East Lansing

Project 6: Learning goals

  • Use the microscopic model of matter (ball & spring) to explain macroscopic phenomena including tension, compression, speed of sound in materials, and friction.
  • Collect, analyze, and evaluate data to determine the properties of materials and to evaluate when linear models for those materials become insufficient to explain the data (e.g., Young’s modulus).
  • Evaluate the applicability/limitations of models and the validity of predictions for different types of motion.
  • Determine the net force acting on a single-particle system using a diagrammatic representation (free-body diagram) and by performing any necessary calculations.
  • Explain the motion of single-particle systems using interactions (forces) as the basis for the explanation.

Project 6: Learning Concepts

  • Forces and Acceleration during Circular Motion
  • Stress and Strain and Young’s Modulus
  • Free-body Diagrams
  • Interpreting Stress/Strain graphs

The city of East Lansing is trying to attract more summer tourists. They've decided to expand their revitalization efforts where they have replaced many of the abandoned buildings on Grand River with new construction. They want to now include an amusement park. They've hired the Tyrell Corporation to build it. You and your team recently graduated from MSU engineering program and have started working for Tyrell under their chief engineering officer Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Dr. Tyrell wants your team to design the amusement park's main attraction, the Nexus-6 roller coaster. The design of the Nexus-6 is such that a single occupant is strapped into a body suit that has a single connecter near the middle of the back of the suit, which connects to a metal alloy cable. This cable is attached to a well-oiled apparatus that slides along the track of the roller coaster. The design calls for an initial hill that rises well above much of the EL skyline and is easily the tallest coaster in the world while the rider is suspended underneath the track. The rider then drops down into the first of several loop-the-loops achieving a speed at the bottom of the first loop (pictured above) of 150 mph (the world's fastest coaster surpassing Dubai's Formula Rossa). All the while the rider is suspended on the outside of the loops. People are calling Dr. Tyrell a crazy man for conceiving of such an idea. Your team has been tasked with developing detailed plans that demonstrate the ride will be safe, particularly with respect to the single metal alloy cable suspension system. Below is experimental data collected on the metal alloy. Don't let Eldon down.

Stress-strain curve for Metal Alloy https://chart-studio.plotly.com/~PERLatMSU/17.embed