Describing the motion in a vertical roller coaster loop requires a good understanding of Newton's laws, vectors and energy transformation. This paper describes how first-year students try to make sense of force and acceleration in this example of non-uniform circular motion, which was part of a written exam. In addition to an analysis of the exam…

A carousel gives possibilities to explore physics in rotating systems and to gain first-hand experience of methods to measure rotation, without the need for an external reference. This paper discusses the Foucault pendulum, as well as the sideways deflection of horizontally and vertically moving objects in a rotating system. These experiments lay…