You’re taking your little cousin to the amusement park for the day and it’s your job to keep him safe. You really want to go on the roller coaster, and he says he really wants to as well. But you predict that when he sees how tall the roller coaster is at the park, he may back out. He’s always afraid of getting hurt. Thinking ahead, you draw the pictures below for him to make a point that sometimes taller and faster is better.

Think about what you now know about potential energy. Is there more potential energy in the car poised at the top of roller coaster A or in the car at the top of roller coaster B? If you answered A, you’re right! And roller coaster A uses more kinetic energy and momentum to get through the entire ride safely. Though roller coaster B LOOKS less scary, the truth is that it might not have enough energy to get through the loop. Riders might not make it all the way to the end of the ride!