Kinetic and Potential Energy Rollercoasters

What goes up, must come down! How much energy does a roller coaster car need to make it through a loop? In this science lesson, High Road students learned about kinetic and potential energy as they built their own roller coasters from simple classroom materials. Each student had piece of cardboard to use as a base, pieces of card stock for the “tracks,” scissors and tape for assembly, and a marble to act as the “car.” Upon final completion of their roller coasters, each student completed a self assessment where they identified what they excelled at and what they found to be difficult during the assembly process. It was a great project for each student to use their critical thinking skills!