About the Course
Have you ever wondered why you slide into your friend when you’re on the Tilt-A-Whirl, or why you don’t fly out of a roller coaster even when you’re traveling upside down? In this course, we’ll examine the physics of our everyday lives and how these forces work in popular amusement parks. Explore key concepts such as acceleration, gravity, and potential and kinetic energy as we investigate how rides are engineered to utilize these concepts for thrilling results. Using simple building materials, you’ll even design your own amusement park rides, employing Newtonian mechanics to maximize results.
The content in The Science of Rides: Amusement Park Physics overlaps with the CTY course Coasters and Corkscrews: Amusement Park Physics. Students who have already taken Coasters and Corkscrews: Amusement Park Physics may wish to consult with an enrollment advisor before selecting this course.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the motion of objects in terms of velocity, speed, distance, displacement, and acceleration
- Identify forces acting on an object and draw free body diagrams
- Describe the motion of amusement park rides in terms of the law of conservation of energy and potential, kinetic, and mechanical energy
- Apply Newton’s Laws of Motion to design and build a marble roller coaster
About Advanced Enrichment courses
These courses offer above-grade-level material that is presented in a novel context, explored with other advanced learners, and guided by a CTY educator to help prepare students for higher-order thinking and college-style academic challenges.
Requirements
CTY courses have grade-level requirements and most require minimum test scores. Some courses may also have prerequisites.
Identification DetailsDates and Tuition
Online
You will be asked to join or sign in first.
Days: Every Wed for 7 weeks
Times: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Register by: December 15, 2025
Time Commitment:
Please acquire all course materials by the course start date, unless noted as perishable. Items marked as “perishable” should not be acquired until the student needs them in the course. If you have questions about these materials or difficulty locating them, please contact [email protected].
Families will be notified by email of any required materials one week prior to the course start date.
Time Commitment: 2.5-3.5 hours per week (1.5 hours of class time, 1-2 hours of independent work). Course will include 6 sessions over 6 weeks.
You will be asked to join or sign in first.
Days: Every Wed for 7 weeks
Times: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Register by: February 17, 2026
Time Commitment:
Please acquire all course materials by the course start date, unless noted as perishable. Items marked as “perishable” should not be acquired until the student needs them in the course. If you have questions about these materials or difficulty locating them, please contact [email protected].
Families will be notified by email of any required materials one week prior to the course start date.
Time commitment: 2.5-3.5 hours per week (1.5 hours of class time, 1-2 hours of independent work). Course will include 6 sessions over 6 weeks.
Registration Fee and Financial Aid
Tuition and fees will be waived or reduced for students who qualify for financial aid.
Learn more about Financial Aid