If the highest hill is 100 feet, it takes about 200 horizontal feet to get the car that high. If the highest hill is 200 feet, it takes 400 feet. Since land is expensive, the designers have to be creative about the use of space. A track shaped into a curve takes up less space than one left in a straight line. Connections Creators of amusement park rides apply their knowledge of physics in their designs.
Highway engineers use many of the same principles as roller coaster designers.
The physics of fear. Science World, p. 19. Ups and downs of coaster physics. Boys' Life, p. 50. William Morrow and Company.