PASCO ME-9426A User Manual

012-03776E Amusement Park Physics

Instruction Manual and
Experiment Guide for the
PASCO scientific Model
ME-9426A

AMUSEMENT PARK

PHYSICS

012-03776E

®

Amusement Park Physi cs 012-03776E

012-03776E Amusement Park Physics

Table of Contents

Section Page

Copyright Warranty, and Equipment Return................................................... ii

Introduction...................................................................................................... 1

Materials ....................................................................................................... 2

Accelerometers: Theory and Operation........................................................... 3

Construction and other Tips............................................................................. 6

Experiments

Experiment 1: Merry-Go-Round ............................................................... 7

Experiment 2: Swing ................................................................................. 9

Experiment 3: Elevator............................................................................. 11

Technical Support........................................................................................... 13

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Amusement Park Physi cs 012-03776E

Copyright, Warranty and Equipment Return

Please—Feel free to duplicate this manual
subject to the copyright restrictions below.

Copyright Notice

The PASCO scientific Model ME-9426A Amusement
Park Physics (15 pack) manual is copyrighted and all
rights reserved. However, permission is granted to non­profit educational institutions for reproduction of any
part of this manual prov iding the reproduct ions are used
only for their laboratories and are not sold for profit.
Reproduction under any other circumstances, without
the written consent of PASCO scientific, is prohibited.

Limited Warranty

PASCO scientific warrant s thi s produc t to be fre e from
defects in material s and workmanship for a period o f one
year from the date of shipment to the customer. PASCO
will repair or replace, at its opti on, any part of the product
which is deemed to be defecti ve in material or workman­ship. This warranty does not cov er damage to the product
caused by abuse or improper use. Determination of
whether a product failur e is the result of a manufacturing
defect or improper use by the customer shall be made
solely by PASCO scientif ic. Responsibility for the retur n
of equipment for warranty repair belongs to the cus­tomer. Equipment must be properly packed to prevent
damage and shipped postage or freight prepaid. (Damage
caused by improp er packing of the equipment fo r return
shipment will not be covered by the war ranty.) Shipping
costs for returning the eq uipment, after repair, will be
paid by PASCO scientific.

Equipment Return

Should this product have to be returned to PASCO sci­entific, for whate ver reason, not ify PASCO scientifi c by
letter or phone BEFORE returning the product. Upon
notification, the return authorization and shipping
instructions will be promptly issued.

NOTE: NO EQUIPMENT WILL BE

ACCEPTED FOR RETURN WITHOUT AN
AUTHORIZATION.

When returning equipment for repair, the units must be
packed properly. Carriers will not accept responsibility
for damage caused by improper packing. To be certain
the unit will not be damaged in shipment, observe the
following ru les:

1. The carton must be strong enough for the item
shipped.

2. Make certain there is at least two inches of packing
material between any poi nt on the appa rat us and the
inside walls of the carton.

3. Make cer tain that the packing material can not shift
in the box, or become co mpressed, thus letting the
instrument come in contact wit h th e edge of the box.

Address:PASCO scientific

10101 Foothills Blvd.
P.O. Box 619011
Roseville, CA 95678-9011

Phone:[phone]
FAX:[phone]
email:[e-mail]
web:www.pasco.com

ii

012-03776E Amusement Park Physics

Introduction

Over the past few years, an increasing number of high
school physics classes have been taking one day a year
to visit an amusement park for an open air physics lab.
With a few simple instruments - a vertical accelerometer,
a horzontal accelerometer (that doubles as a sextant), and
a piece of string marked out in meters - students make
measurements that allow them to analyze the motion of
the various rides. It's an invigorating form of laboratory
physics, mentally and physically. It's one thing to watch
a lab cart rolling on a table. It's quite another thing to be
in the lab cart yourself.

Description

The Model ME-9426A Amusement Park Physics (15
pack) provides material for 15 vertical accelerometers
and 15 horizontal accelerometers. The kit also includes
a ball of string that can be marked off in meters for
distance measurements, and plastic bags for protecting
accelerometers, paper, etc., from some of the more
aquatic rides. The only materials you'll need that aren't
provided are scissors, masking tape, pliers, clear plastic
tape, and an amusement park. The accelerometers are
designed to be assembled by the students, themselves.
Instruction sheets are included with the kits.

About This Manual

This manual includes some basic information on using
the accelerometers. It also includes three experiments that
do not require an amusement park: two experiments for
playgrounds, and one for elevators.

two reasons. The first is that the rides vary greatly from
park to park. The second is that experimental information
is readily available from other sources. See your local
PTRA (Physics Teacher's Resource Agent) for informa­tion.

Other

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)
Amusement Park Physics handbook, edited by Carole
Escobar, is a collection of the various materials written
and circulated by individual teachers. Amusement Park
Physics presents all the information you need both to plan
a trip to a park and to use the physics of amusement parts
rides in your classes. The handbook includes a teacher’s
guide, practice problems, information on accelerometers,
a measurements reference, laboratory exercises, repro­ducible student worksheets, and reprinted resource arti­cles. (ISBN 0-917853-53-9 © 1994). See the AAPT web
site:

www.thephysicsstore.com

It’s quite possible that there is already an Amusement
Park Physics Day planned at a park near you, and mate­rials may be available that are applicable to that particular
park.

See the PASCO web site at www.pasco.com for more
information on PASCO interfaces, equipment, and soft­ware.

We haven't included amusement park experiments for

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Amusement Park Physics 012-03776E

Materials

Materials Included for Building Horizontal Acceler­ometers

- Accelerometer Card 15 ea.

- Rubber Band 15 ea.

- Straw 15 ea

- BBs 45 ea.

- Plastic Tubing 2.4 m

Materials Included for Building Vertical Accelerom­eters

- Springs 15 ea.

- Plastic Tube (30 cm long) 15 ea.

- End Cap (for plastic tube) 30 ea.

- Pushpin 1 ea.

- Weight (10 g) 15 ea.

- Paper Clip (#3) 15 ea.

- Red Tape (3 mm wide) 1 roll

- Rubber Band 15 ea.

Rubber Band

Straw

Red Tape

Spring

Accelerometer Card

Rubber Band

Paper Clip

Weight

Plastic Tube

BBs

Plastic Tubing

End Cap

Pushpin

Also Included

- Plastic "Zip-Loc" Bag 15 ea.

- Accelerometer Construction Sheet 15 ea.

- String 1 roll

- Pushpin 1 ea.

- Bumper Sticker (not shown) 25 ea.

Plastic Bag

String

Accelerometer

construction

sheets

2