The Physics of Sledding
By: Ryan Boothe
 Dr. Newman's Physics 211
November 24, 2004


                                                                                                    Taken by Jason Hoisington
        Ever love it when you look out the window the one morning and see that it had snowed more than a foot of snow? You then get ready as fast as you can, throw on your snow gear, and rip outside to go sledding down that steep hill called the Widow Maker. While you sled, you try to find ways to make the sled go faster, ways to cut corners sharper, and find ways to fit more people on the sled while hoping to make out alive after hitting the huge jump at the bottom. As a kid, did you ever wonder how a sled works and why can you  can only go so fast? Or what is it that causes a sled to slow down? 
        Sledding is a fun past time that most people love to do. Most people have some funny or interesting story about a sledding experience they had. Stories about how they could not make the turn and wiped out in the bushes, or how much air they got off the jump before they landed on a fellow sledder and crashed.

 
http://www.hatsharpening.com/personal/sledding/ko&derek&lorien.html

        What I am going to talk about here is how a sled is affected by the laws of physics. Such as what laws are acting upon sledders as they are traveling down "The Widow Maker" or any other hill one may encounter in the woods. There are several forces that act upon the sled that cause it to slide down a hill and there are forces which prevent the sled from going down the hill.  I hope to explain what these forces are and how they affect the fun activity of sledding. I will explain the downhill mechanics of sledding, the laws of physics of going off a jump,  and the energy that is involved in sledding.

Taken By Ryan Boothe

      To find out more:    
1. Main Page
2. The Projectile Motion of a Sled off a Jump
        3. The Mechanics of Sledding          
4. How Much Energy Does it Take to Sled?
5. Bibliography