GED Science: Spinning and Spinning
You know what I love? The fair! It’s got all those crazy rides that spin you all around, and up and down, and I feel like I’m gonna get sick, but I just keep riding them!! They’ve always got these deals going too where you can get a bracelet or something and ride all day long! I used to be able to ride on those spinning ones (the one at my fair was called the GRAVITRON!!) all day and night, but nowadays I can only ride them a couple of times, and then I gotta take a breather and go on a much more tame ride, like a roller coaster.
Check out this practice question I found about the GRAVITRON!
A man stands on a ride at an amusement park that spins around. As the ride spins faster, the man is pushed back against the outer wall and finds it very difficult to pull himself away from it.
Which statement best explains this event?
1. There is glue on the wall holding him on.
2. The ride is creating a magnetic force that pulls the man toward the metal in the walls.
3. The ride is creating a new center of gravity inside the walls.
4. The spinning of the ride creates a centrifugal force that pushes the man outward from the center.
5. The ride creates an optical illusion the makes the man think he is falling backward into the wall.
Haha, well unless he’s a metal man, I don’t think 2 is right! Magnetics only work on metal, and only some kinds of metal. Maybe if he had a lot of metal in his pockets? But the question doesn’t say he does, so I’m gonna guess not. Especially ’cause I don’t think spinning around creates magnetic forces, that has something to do with the north and south pole I think?
Anyway, 1 is always wrong, there’s no glue in theme park rides unless some kind puts it there. That leaves me with 3, which says it’s gravity; 4, which says it’s centrifugal force; and 5, which says it’s all an optical illusion. Well, I guess there are some optical illusions that make you think you might be moving when you’re not. They got this other ride at Universal Studios that has a long tunnel that spins, and when you get out of the tunnel, you realize that everyone on the ride is leaning to their left ’cause of the spinning! I don’t know how that works, but I don’t think it’s true here. When you spin something around, like if you had a cup filled with water and spun it really fast, the water would stick to the sides too! So that’s not it.
I don’t think it’s 3 either, ’cause gravity is something that big things do. The sun, the Earth, the moon, they all have gravity, but they’re big masses… I mean HUGE masses of rock and stuff, and they only create a little bit of gravity. I mean, we can still jump and fly in planes. But when you’re on the Gravitron, you couldn’t jump. It says that in the question too. “The man finds it very difficult to pull himself away.” So if the Earth creates a little bit of gravity, I really doubt the Gravitron could creation even MORE gravity (as much as its name wants it to).
I think the answer’s number 4. I’m not even entirely sure what centrifugal force is, but it sounds about right. Like isn’t a centrifuge something the put blood in and spin REALLY fast? Even if you don’t know about that, all the other answers just don’t make as much sense. Like 3 says it’s making gravity IN the walls, which doesn’t work, but 4 says that it’s creating a force that just pushes the man out from the center. That makes more sense.
Hope everyone has a good new year! 2010!! Keep studying for the GED! Make a resolution to pass! You can totally do it!
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January 18th, 2010 at 10:14 am
haha, I remember the gravitron. my favorite ride was the kamikaze. you’re right the rest of the answers don’t make sense. except I thought 3 might be the answer. I don’t know how gravity works…after all in rides they call the force that pushes you “G” force. doesn’t “G” stand for gravity?
January 19th, 2010 at 11:12 am
I thot it was answer 5 since all those carnival rides are about fooling you-like the ones where you try to get coins into bottles and its impossible to get the big stuffed animals! my favorite ride is disney lands thunder mtn railroad
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:51 am
Whoah, those are good points!
Jenni,
That’s true that they call the thing that pushes against you a g-force… hey that sounds like a pretty good name for a ride too. G-FORZE!! But anyway, the term g-force is used for lots of things, right? Like pretty much all rides have a g-force to them. Roller coasters and stuff. Even when you’re in your car and you hit the gas REALLY fast ’cause the light’s about to turn yellow, you can feel that same thing pushing your cheeks back, right? That doesn’t mean your car’s creating a gravity ball behind you, it’s all ’cause you’re speeding up. I think it’s just called “g” force ’cause it kinda acts like gravity, but it’s really not.
Marlie,
You’re right, carnivals are always trying to trick you! I have to make sure I buy my wristband to go on all the rides FIRST, or else I’ll waste all my money on the games. I can never beat any of them!! The brain can trick you pretty good too, but when you’re talking about things that are actually moving, that’s not an illusion. One way you can know is that you can close your eyes. “Optical” illusions are based on visual stuff. They trick you through your eyes. If you spin around in your chair and feel a force pulling you toward the back of the chair even with your eyes closed, you know it’s not an illusion.
Of course, you can get past the illusion with carnival games by closing your eyes too, but then you can’t see at all! But I bet it couldn’t HURT my chances since I never win, so maybe I’ll try it next time!!!
July 7th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Well I looked at the question and then looked at all the statements, after consideration(and being a theme park GEEK)I believe the answer is #4… because the ride pulls you out from the center of the ride to the outermost place of the wall.
Am I correct??? I hope so!!