VCE Physics

Every year Luna Park runs a Physics Activity Day, where the amusement park is booked out for VCE Physics students to come and try out the rides and learn about physics concepts. 

Constant circular motion can only be achieved through an applied force at a tangent to the circle. They can learn this fact in the classroom, but when they are flying upside down in a vertical circle on the Enterprise, they get to experience these forces themselves and get a more intuitive feel for how the direction of the forces change over time. 

Weightlessness is something that can be experienced despite the fact that the weight force never disappears. As students entered freefall from exhilarating heights on the Coney Island Drop they were able to experience firsthand how the forces they experience will change throughout the ride. 

And Newton’s laws of motion were on full display, with constant changes in momentum, sudden accelerations, and complex forces. When it comes to finding the sum of multiple forces it helps to have experienced them before, and with the use of accelerometers the students had valuable data to analyse when they returned to school, along with a renewed appreciation for physics.

Luther Vasic

Science and Maths Teacher