Blog

Back on Friday, May 2, this year’s RAA Physics class, 27 juniors strong, embarked on a physics adventure, trading the classroom for thrilling drops and dizzying loops at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. This wasn’t just a fun day out; it was a hands-on physics lab where every twist and turn of a roller coaster had the potential to become a data point in a future calculation!

Armed with Bluetooth displacement trackers from our physics department, students bravely boarded some of the park’s most iconic rides. The goal? To capture the raw data of motion, which would later be translated into displacement graphs back in the classroom. Imagine seeing a visual representation of data from Tatsu or X2 come alive!

Our intrepid team of four RAA vans, piloted by chaperones Mr. H, Mrs. Macknet, Mr. Walter, and Mr. Hayton navigated the park like seasoned pros. And talk about good luck! It was a rare day where every single thrill ride was open, much to Mr. H’s delight! And on top of that, it was also a “medium” crowd level day, meaning most line wait times clocked in at a breezy 20 minutes or less except, of course, X2.

Speaking of X2, a huge shout-out to Khaveen Kabilan, who made RAA history by being the first student in fifteen years to ride X2 a whole 3 times in one visit! That’s dedication to data collection. But what’s even more surprising is that over 75% of our physics students had never set foot in Magic Mountain before this trip! After a day packed with physics fun and data collection, we wouldn’t be surprised if that same 75% considered summer memberships.

Our physics students now have until June 6 to dive into their collected data to solve at least seven real life problems, turning their thrilling experiences and data collection adventures into meaningful physics calculations. Curious to see the displacement graphs of Tatsu, Twisted Colossus, or even X2 look like? Stop by Room 500 - with a peek at these graphs you just might find yourself on the fast track to falling in love with physics!