Magic Mountain Physics |
||
Author(s): George Lyle | Field Trip -
Teacher's Guide SED 695B; Fall 2005 |
Topics addressed Most physics topics, including kinematics, energy, momentum, fluids, electricity, and optics |
Description of Field Trip This is a very common field trip for high school physics classes in Southern California. Magic Mountain is a "group friendly" venue, if you know how to work their system. Here are some hints:
|
Standards Most California Physics Standards |
Study Guide: See my activity guide here
|
Questions: See the above links |
Have students wear comfortable clothes. They will do a lot of walking, so this isn't the place for spike heels! Hats and sunscreen are musts. | |||
Magic Mountain is always opening new rides such as Scream. This means that the teacher needs to update their activities to match. Magic Mountain has ready-made activity packets available for the asking, but they are somewhat out of date. | |||
Students should not have to go on rides to complete some of your activities. Some rides, like Tidal Wave pictured here, have observation points that allow students to observe without actually riding. | |||
Keep the equipment simple. It will get beat up in the rides and with students walking around. Waterproof bags are a good idea, but you can't rely on them keeping things completely dry. | |||
Superman is a popular ride for physics experiments. It is interesting to calculate its performance and compare those numbers to those published by the park. | |||
References & Links: Magic Mountain Website Pasco Amusement Park Physics Instruments are the best ones I've used.
|