How Does Newtons Laws Apply To An Amusement Park In General?

Answer 1

Newton's first law, that an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by another force, is significant in the design of pretty much every ride. The engineers design under the assumption that the ride will continue in the desired direction, while accounting for other forces like friction and gravity. The feeling you get from a drop on a coaster or a change in direction is because your body is resisting a change in direction... it wan't to keep going in the direction is was going (or sitting still at the top of a hill).

Newton's second law is an equation where Force is the product of Mass times Acceleration (F=MA). This is important in determining what materials to use when building rides and in determining if they will be safe for people to experience.

Finally, the third law tells us that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. This can be played out in many ways, but the one that seems very important has to do with engineering rides. Considering tall coasters that have the weight of the ride and riders pushing down on the structure. The structure must have a greater "normal force" pushing back up in order to maintain its structure. Other examples could be anything with propulsion where air or water is shot out of the back in order to move the ride the opposite direction (forward).