For our first SAC, both Year 12 Physics classes took the opportunity to visit Luna Park in the name of science on Friday 6 March. The 19 students from MLMC and 800 or so more from other schools, as well as our Physics-loving teacher Mr John Parlas, were able to experience in just a matter of hours all the theory we had been learning in class about circular motion over the past few weeks.
Eager to try and get on all 13 rides available, as well as collect important data for our upcoming SAC, we turned on our PocketLabs and went on every ride possible. We were able to record data such as velocity, distance, time and acceleration while in motion, using our PocketLabs and phones to ensure accurate data was collected. This data would become useful in later classes as it can help us to better understand how linear and circular motion work in practice. The PocketLab Voyager is a portable device which connects via Bluetooth to a mobile phone or computer and measures acceleration, rotation, altitude, light, magnetic fields and more.
Students prioritised the rides that were being assessed, including the dodgem cars, supernova, scenic railway, pharaoh’s curse, coney drop and enterprise, before venturing out and experiencing other rides. A class favourite was the power surge ride. Everyone seemed to enjoy the unexpected speed and constant change of direction as well as the adrenaline rush from being thrown around so quickly. Students also enjoyed rides such as the speedy beetle and enterprise.
Unlike the rest of the class who seemed to prefer speed, Mr Parlas really seemed to enjoy the collisions and laughter that came with the dodgem cars. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we weren’t able to go on all the rides, missing the spider, twin dragon and ferris wheel, but the rushed Macca’s run seemed to make up for it.
Overall, the Luna Park excursion was a hit! We all enjoyed everything it had to offer, while getting to experience the theory we had been studying over the past few weeks.
— Olivia Pettinella, Jelinna Santiago, Rory Townend, Harrison George, Michelle Richardson, Adam Camp, Ryan Finette and Joel Starnawski
Please note: the photos included in this article were taken prior to the Federal Government’s announcement on Sunday 15 March 2020 regarding social distancing.
