Ethan+N13


 * TESTING THE WAY THE MARBLE TRAVELS AROUND THE LOOP ON A ROLLER COASTER BASED ON THE RADIUS OF THE LOOP **

**2012-2013**
The purpose of the experiment was to see if the radius of the loop on a marble track affected the way a marble travels around it. It was hypothesized that the smaller the radius of the loop, the better the marble would travel. After materials to complete the experiment were gathered,the track was put together and a cup was placed at the end of the track to catch the marble. To keep the track steady and together, the base of the stand holding the loop was taped to the ground and the beginning of the track was taped to the tabletop (to make it stay). Next, the diameter of the loop was recorded and then the marble was dropped from the start of the track (the edge of the tabletop). To have consistent results, the marble was then dropped at the beginning of the track and with same diameter measurement for the loop. After this, the results were recorded onto the computer and the diameter of the loop was changed to a different size. Then, the marble was dropped again from the same height and for three times (to keep consistency). When the experiment was finished, the measurements (of the loop) (diameter) were then converted into radius form. The maximum length of the radius the metal marble could go around 100% of the time was 10.5 cm while the silly putty and rainbow marble both could go up to 11.5 cm 100% of the time. The white marble could go 11 cm 100% of the time.
 * ABSTRACT **

An improvement to this experiment could be to keep the table and the stand in a particular spot and keep it there for more consistency. If needed, put more tape on the track to hold it down and it would be best to never lift the track off the ground and to not move the table until the experiment is done. Another improvement with the silly putty marble that could be done is to switch the silly putty every 24 hours if it takes that long to do the experiment. The silly putty tended to get on the ground and the dirt on the it may affect the results of the experiment. A future experiment that could be done is to add multiple loops to the track and see what the outcome of that experiment could be. The radii of the loop(s) could also be different to affect the results of the experiment. The end of the track could still be taped to a tabletop but there could be two loops and the cup could still be at the end of the track. The marble could be dropped from the start of the track with two loops and then the one of the loops could be taken off. Then the same marble would be dropped from a track that only had one of the loops, but it is important that both of the tracks have the same amount of track to start with (for consistency).
 * EXPERIMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE EXPERIMENTS **