Roller Coaster Scavenger Hunt

This scavenger hunt should help you discover some interesting facts about roller coasters. See how many questions you can answer. The links on the previous page will help you in your search.

1. Roller coasters are exciting and fun. Did you ever wonder where, how, and when they were invented? To find out, research the history of roller coasters.

2. HELP!!! You want to get off. How do roller coasters stop at the end of the ride?

3. Are you brave or afraid? Describe some of the early disasters which resulted from faulty physics on roller coaster rides. 

4. How many amusement parks are in the state of New York? When did the first park in New York open? How long has it been opened?

5. Did you ever think about being a designer of roller coasters? How does a roller coaster work? 

6. If you look at pictures of roller coasters, they always end on a lower level than where they started. Why are they built this way? 

7. You have just moved to the moon. Could you go to the amusement park and ride a roller coaster? What role does gravity play in making a roller coaster work?

8. What are some affects of roller coaster rides on the human body? 

9. Your friend will not go on the roller coaster because he thinks that he will fall off. Explain the methods used and questions asked by roller coaster designers and safety engineers in the process of designing roller coaster rides.

10.  Have you ever seen a wooden roller coaster? They are not very exciting. Why is it that wooden roller coasters do not have inversions (you cannot ride upside down)?.