Acme Roller Coaster Company

1. Acme Roller Coaster Company

2. Background • “A roller coaster is a thrill ride found in amusement and theme parks. • It consists of small open cars that run on inclined railway tracks, driven by gravity and momentum. • Their path often includes twists, loops, and drops. Roller coasters are designed to appear dangerous, but they are safe as long as riders follow prescribed precautions.”

3. Brief History of the Roller Coaster • The earliest known devices resembling roller coasters were ice-covered wooden slides constructed in Russia in the 1400's. • The first American roller coaster was built at Coney Island in New York City in 1884. • By the 1920's, there were about 2,000 roller coasters in North America. • Today, there are about 175 large, permanent roller coasters in the United States, some with reported speeds of about 70 miles per hour.

4. Roller Coasters – Utah • In Utah there are two roller coaster engineering companies. • One of them, in Layton, constructed the cauldron torch at Rice Stadium for the 2002 Winter Olympics. • The other company is located in Logan.

5. Brain-storming • Thinking of any possible solution or idea that comes to your mind. • When a group of people brainstorm, no idea is rejected. • Even bad suggestions can stimulate thought and lead to other good ideas.

6. Clearly identify the problem • Collect Information • Develop Possible Solution Ideas • Select the best idea • Test the idea • Evaluate the results • The Problem Solving Method is usually not an attempt to expand the body of scientific knowledge. • Rather, it’s used to produce a product, solve a problem, or satisfy a human need using existing knowledge, resources, and processes

7. When engineers design a new roller coaster they don’t just order materials and start building a roller coaster at the amusement park. They first: • Brainstorm ideas • Make drawings • Calculate construction costs • Test the design with a computer simulation • Design a scale model • Order materials and build the roller coaster • Safety certify the new roller coaster through trial run • And finally open the new roller coaster for paying customers

8. Your Mission: • Your engineering group has been hired by the Acme Roller Coaster Company to design and build a new roller coaster for Lagoon. • When engineers design a new roller coaster they don’t just order materials and start building a roller coaster at the amusement park.

9. Requirements: • The Acme Roller Coaster Company has been given a contract to build a roller coaster with: • A starting hill • A hump • A loop • 180 degree change of direction. • Your task is to build a working model • Receive Materials. • Go!!!!!!

10. Challenge #2 • Now, design a second roller coaster. • This time it must have: • A hump • A 180 degree change of direction in the middle • Three loops.

11. Discussion: • How did you handle leadership in your groups? • What makes a good team leader? • How well did your groups work together? • What could have helped your teams work better together?

12. The ‘Real’ world • What happened here is similar to a real company. • It is true that people don’t usually appoint themselves to be the boss. • And the company employees usually don’t get to elect their boss. • If you are part of an engineering team the team leader will usually be appointed. • Sometimes you may have to just do what the boss asks you to do.