Physics Trip

A Day at Six Flags Great Adventure

Daniel Katz

June. 1 2026

The Regents Physics and AP Physics classes went on a field trip to the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey. The day prior to the field trip, the Physics classes had to complete a lab performing calculations to find things such as the potential and kinetic energies and velocities for the Nitro and Batman roller coaster rides in the amusement park. For the trip, the classes departed from the school at about 7:05 AM and arrived at the park at around 9:36 AM. The trip was relatively quick going both to and from the amusement park, as the class experienced little traffic in places like the George Washington Bridge, and no traffic on the Trogs Neck Bridge. Upon arriving at the park, the physics classes were handed their tickets and ventured into the park asthe students went their separate ways to their rides of choice. The rides were exhilarating and made for an enjoyable experience; however, the wait times, especially later in the day, were extremely long. These wait times were worsened by some rides' operation being delayed or not running at all. Other rides had some mechanical issues throughout the day, such as the Dark Knight, the Sky Screamer, and the Flash. These problems, though, were fixed quite quickly. Many were upset, as some had spent about 2 hours in line waiting for the Flash, only for it to break down. Furthermore, there were many food choices and restaurants in the park, all of which had decent food and provided students with adequate options. There were also some menu items offered that are not typically seen in amusement parks, such as cannolis and brussel sprouts. Overall, most of the physics students really enjoyed the field trip, with many of them getting to ride between 2 and 4 rides throughout the day.