Slides

    A tilted surface (inclined plane) can be so much fun! Who would think that? Actually this tilted surface is a slide.

A very important factor for the slide to work is gravity. Gravity allows us to gently glide down the slide. Gravity is accelerates us at 9.8m/s/s. Without gravity, you wouldn’t be able to move down the slide. Sitting at the top of the slide, giving a little nudge, gravity pulls us down. Going down big slides that are really tall are the most fun because the steeper the slide is, the nearer you are to falling straight down. This indicates the component of gravity acting on you has to be next to the complete 9.8m/s/s, meaning you accelerate down really fast. (only in free fall would you accelerate at 9.8m/s/s) Acceleration is the change in velocity of a moving body or the rate of such things (Webster’s). The force of the person on the slide is equal to this persons mass times their acceleration. ( F=MA)

For a nice smooth ride, the amount of friction is important. Friction is the resistance to motion of two moving objects or surfaces that touch (Webster’s). Have you ever tried to move a heavy box across a carpet? The friction is opposing you to do this makes this act difficult. Thus the force of friction has a big mu (the coefficient of friction). On those hot days in the summer when you were shorts and tried to slide down the slide, it is hard because the coefficient of friction is high. If you wore pants the coefficient of friction would be lower and you would easily go down.

On the slide, which is also known as a tilted surface or an inclined plane, there are always at least two forces acting upon the object. The two forces are: force of gravity (the weight of the person, weight is the mass of the person times gravity, W=mg) and the normal force (this acts in a direction perpendicular to the surface). A person on the slide is the force of gravity and the slide itself is the normal force that it exerts on you. This is known because of Newton’s Third Law (for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction).

Sitting at the top of the slide , you have potential energy. Potential energy is energy in an inactive form that is the result of relative position (Webster’s). As you slide down the slide the potential energy turns into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is energy in motion. The higher you are on the slid the more PE you will have, and thus you could obtain a higher speed.

    To have the most enjoyable ride possible, you should wear slippery pants. Some "hard-core" sliders bring a lubricant, such as silicone or, like at theme parks, water.

And remember: