Forces and motion

On Thursday 25 May students from the Year 11 & 12 HSC Physics classes and the Year 12 IB Physics class visited Luna Park as part of their investigation into forces and motion. Students had the opportunity to apply their conceptual understanding to amusement park rides. Through a well tailored program, students analysed the motion and forces that act on a person and performed a range of calculations to investigate the operation of several of the rides. Many students stretched beyond their comfort zones on some of the rides but overall everyone enjoyed the experience. 

Student reflections:

Going to Luna Park was a valuable experience for us as a class as we were able to connect the theoretical knowledge we developed in class to some real-world examples and experiences that will allow us to better understand Physics concepts.

Olivia Sukar
Year 12 IB Physics

Going to Luna Park was an invaluable experience we will not forget. It was amazing to be able to apply our knowledge to real life amusement park rides, and with some difficulty, analyse their motion. It was great to see concepts we’d learnt about, and we felt for ourselves the forces of centripetal motion, inertia and more, whilst enjoying all the crazy new rides. It was a super fun day!!

Elena Di Mento & Elena Zengovski
Year 12 HSC Physics

Going to Luna Park was a great experience. It was a fun way to see what we have been learning in class in action and to explore real life applications of forces. I also really enjoyed getting to have fun with my fellow classmates and teachers throughout the day.

Genevieve Bitar
Year 11 HSC Physics

Alex Conolly
Assistant Head of Science