The architect on each team is responsible for preparing blueprints
that show two views of the roller coaster drawn to scale and an artistic
rendition.
Gather the Tools:
Each architect gets a piece of poster board that has one side marked with a ½''
grid. The side with the grid is for a continuous side view and a
top view drawn to scale. The side without gridlines is for an artistic
rendition and a car design.
"This type of poster board
is more expensive and students could have drawn gridlines themselves,
but we were feeling pressed for time and didn't want to use any class
time for this process. It is not a good use of class time, but at
the same time, it's hard to justify the added expense of grid poster
board. Next year I plan to have all architects prepare gridlines on
poster board at home."
—Meile Harris
Establish an Appropriate Scale:
Architects find an appropriate scale for
their blueprint drawings by trial and error, using the height of the
initial drop the team has planned for their coaster. They need a scale
that will show details of the ride, but they also need to keep it
small enough to be represented on the poster board. Most students
used ½'' : 50 ft. or ½" : 100 ft.
"In a previous unit, students had done
several activities using scale and proportion, so it was a fairly
simple activity." —Meile Harris
Draw a Continuous Side View:
Next, architects prepare
a continuous side view of their roller coaster using the scale they
have determined. This task requires them to think carefully about how
each segment of the coaster looks if they are standing directly perpendicular
to that segment.
Almost all students struggled
with their continuous side views at some point. They wanted to do
a three-dimensional representation of their elements. Next year I
will have them use the maquette (the pipe cleaner model) produced
by the group's engineer while doing this. I think this will alleviate
most of the problems students had during this time." —Meile Harris
Analyze the Track:
The continuous side view is used for an analysis of time, distance,
and speed for sections of the track. Students start with the distance
of the drop and estimate the speed the car travels during that segment
of track. With values for distance and speed, students calculate the
time it takes for the car to travel that segment. They tally the distance
and time for all segments of the track to get the total distance and
run time for the ride.
Continuous Side View of
the Black Diamond
Draw a Top View:
The top view
requires architects to think carefully about what an element like a
loop will look like from the top, with many features flattened or shorter
than the normal 3-D view.
"Students struggled with this representation
because they knew the total length of track and wanted to represent
that full length. Again, I think working off the model from the engineers
would take care of the problem for the most part."
—Meile Harris
Top View of the Black Diamond
Design a Car:
The car design
requires a different scale to show enough detail. The architects also
need to consider and present safety features in their designs.
Car Design for the Black
Diamond
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Car Design for
the Amazon
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Seat Detail
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Artistic Rendition
The
artistic rendition is a 3-D view of the roller coaster with setting
and theme features for a backdrop. The architect needs to maintain a
scale perspective and keep trees, signs, and other setting features
in proportion.
"Most students thought this was the focus
of the architect's work. Some of the architects who thought this was
an art project were a little overwhelmed with the math required. For
this task, students were shown examples from the last year." —Meile Harris
Artistic Rendition of the "Black Diamond" and the "Amazon"
Keep a Journal:
Everyone keeps a journal showing their progress through the tasks.
Amanda's Journal
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