Gap

[Kelleah]

Can anyone tell me the best angle for a large gap and the best place to put it; e.g. beginning, middle, or end of the track? I am also looking for suggestions about the best material for a track to build momentum for a jump.

[JionPark]

I didn't really get to identify the angle to make gaps for my roller coaster, but I pretty sure there's other science olympians who can help you on that. I've used paper as my tracks to make my gaps. I got higher gaps when the paper got longer while the paper was descending. I noticed that the longer paper gave the vehicle more kinetic energy when the vehicle was descending.

[Froberts]

Can anyone tell me the best angle for a large gap and the best place to put it; e.g. beginning, middle, or end of the track? I am also looking for suggestions about the best material for a track to build momentum for a jump.

The optimal angle to launch your marble is 45 degrees. But leading up to the jump you may want to have a drop before it so it will pick up speed very quickly. Also in regards to the material used I think you would want a material that keeps its shape and is smooth to get a jump that is repeatable Does this help?

[cool hand luke]

45 degrees will give you the furthest jump. we are using sheet metal for ours.