Graduation Year
2012
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
W.M. Keck Science Department
Second Department
Physics
Reader 1
Scot A. C. Gould
Reader 2
Thomas Dershem
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Rights Information
© 2012 Kelsey Lubetich
Abstract
The work presented in this thesis was undertaken to quantitatively determine the best place to sit on a roller coaster. Maximizing the time spent feeling weightless and the highest value of negative Z acceleration were used as criteria for the best seat. Acceleration values were measured on the California Screamin' roller coaster at Disney California Adventure Park using an iPhone and an application to record data from its accelerometers. After analyzing acceleration data, it was determined that the front row had the greatest negative acceleration in the z direction and was therefore the "best place" to sit.
Recommended Citation
Lubetich, Kelsey, "Where Is the Best Place to Sit on a Roller Coaster? Forces, Physics, and Fun at Disneyland" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. 125.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/125
