Look at the roller coaster track in this image. Assume no energy is lost to friction as the roller coaster travels around the track.  The total mass of the roller coaster is 650 kg. Use the measurements shown in the image and your knowledge of conservation of energy to answer the following questions.

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  1. If it takes a force of 2760 N [parallel to the track] to pull the roller coaster up to point A, and it is pulled along 150 m of track, find the work done on the roller coaster
• 2. Find the total energy the roller coaster has at point A if it is at rest for a moment before it starts to go down the hill.

• 3. According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, what will the total energy of the roller coaster be at points B and C?
• 4. Use the Law of Conservation of Energy to find the speed of the roller coaster at point B.
• 5. If it takes the motor 20.0 s to pull the roller coaster to point A, find the power of the motor.
• 6. In real life, some of the energy the roller coaster has at point A will be lost as thermal energy due to friction as it travels through the track. If the speed of the roller coaster at point C is only 19 m/s, calculate the amount of energy that was lost due to friction.

 

25 m B 52 m A 65 m