Slip-n-Slide

You climb six stories to the top of the platform. Then you sit on an inner tube and peer over the edge. Finally, you take off, twisting and coiling for a total of 335 feet. Racing along at up to 32 miles per hour, you finish the ride by plunging 37 feet into the mouth of a giant king cobra.

That’s what it’s like to ride Raja—The World’s Largest King Cobra. It’s a rip-roaring waterslide at Noah’s Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin. The ride is the tallest and longest of its kind and will open to waterpark guests on May 26, the first day of the season.

You climb six stories to the top of the platform. Then you sit on an inner tube and peer over the edge. Finally, you take off. Whoosh! You go twisting and turning for a total of 335 feet. You race along at up to 32 miles per hour. Finally, you finish the ride by plunging 37 feet into the mouth of a giant king cobra.

That's what it's like to ride Raja, The World's Largest King Cobra. It's a rip-roaring waterslide at Noah's Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin. The ride is the tallest and longest of its kind. It opens to waterpark guests on May 26. That’s the first day of the season.

Covering an area of 70 acres, Noah’s Ark is the largest waterpark in America. It’s known for its record-breaking rides. When the park was built in 2005, its Black Anaconda attraction was America’s longest water coaster. In 2010, Noah’s Ark opened Scorpion’s Tail, the first waterslide with an upside-down loop in the U.S.

Noah’s Ark isn’t the only water park with daredevil rides. Read on to learn about four more waterslides that will get your adrenaline pumping this summer!

Noah's Ark is the largest waterpark in America. It has 70 acres of exciting rides. Many are record-breaking. When the park was built in 2005, its Black Anaconda attraction was America's longest water coaster. In 2010, Noah's Ark opened Scorpion's Tail. It was the first waterslide with an upside-down loop in the U.S.

Noah's Ark isn't the only water park with daredevil rides. Read on to learn about four more waterslides that will get you excited for the summer!

Find the slopes of each waterslide or waterslide section in the following questions. All coordinates are in feet. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

DISNEY WORLD BLIZZARD BEACH • SUMMIT PLUMMET

Do you have a need for speed? Then Summit Plummet is the ride for you. Riders of this near-vertical body slide can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour!

Summit Plummet is the signature ride at Disney World Blizzard Beach in Orlando, Florida. Resembling a ski jump, it sits at the peak of a section of the park called Mount Gushmore. The slope is so steep, riders can’t see where they’re going. They launch from the top of the “ski jump” and then keep plunging down into a hidden tunnel that keeps dropping toward the ground. (The ski jump’s upturned ramp is just for show.)

After plunging a total of 12 stories, riders reach a flat stretch that slows them to a stop and they spray water everywhere. A digital stop clock at the bottom shows riders’ top speeds. How fast could you go?

Do you have a need for speed? Then Summit Plummet is the ride for you. Riders of this near-vertical body slide can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour!

Summit Plummet is the signature ride at Disney World Blizzard Beach in Orlando, Florida. Resembling a ski jump, it sits at the peak of a section of the park called Mount Gushmore. The slope is so steep, riders can’t see where they’re going. They launch from the top of the “ski jump” and then keep plunging down into a hidden tunnel that keeps dropping toward the ground. (The ski jump’s upturned ramp is just for show.)

After plunging a total of 12 stories, riders reach a flat stretch that slows them to a stop and they spray water everywhere. A digital stop clock at the bottom shows riders’ top speeds. How fast could you go?

Summit Plummet’s big drop starts at point A(0, 120) and ends at point B(56, 0). What’s the slope from point A to point B?

After riders speed downhill, they travel straight for 180 feet. What are the coordinates for point C?

WATER WORLD • TURBO RACER

Ultra-competitors will love Turbo Racer at Water World in Denver, Colorado. This slide has eight lanes for people to race down the slide, to see who wins. Each racer lies on a mat, belly down. Once riders get the green light, they nosedive down the slide. Less than a minute later, each rider glides to the finish. Digital clocks are above every lane, immediately displaying individual finishing times. “You can tell who has won,” says Joann Cortéz, the communications director at Water World. Riders reach top speeds of up to 22 miles per hour.

Cortéz says many groups visit the park to race down Turbo Racer. “People love this ride,” she says. And Cortéz loves it too—Turbo Racer happens to be her favorite slide out of the park’s 50 different attractions.

Ultra-competitors will love Turbo Racer at Water World in Denver, Colorado. This slide has eight lanes for people to race down the slide, to see who wins. Each racer lies on a mat, belly down. Once riders get the green light, they nosedive down the slide. Less than a minute later, each rider glides to the finish. Digital clocks are above every lane, immediately displaying individual finishing times. “You can tell who has won,” says Joann Cortéz, the communications director at Water World. Riders reach top speeds of up to 22 miles per hour.

Cortéz says many groups visit the park to race down Turbo Racer. “People love this ride,” she says. And Cortéz loves it too—Turbo Racer happens to be her favorite slide out of the park’s 50 different attractions.

Turbo Racer’s starting line is at point D(0, 61). What’s the slope between point D and point E(127, 26), which is partway down the slide?

The slope changes at point E before reaching the ground at point F(283, 0). What’s the slope from point E to point F?

Racers skim straight across the water for 120 feet from point F to point G. What are the coordinates for point G?

KALAHARI RESORTS • TORNADO ALLEY

To experience zero gravity, head to Tornado Alley. This action-packed waterslide is one of six new attractions built in 2017 at Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, Ohio. During the topsy-turvy experience, riders drop into two tornado-like funnels and slide up walls before tumbling even farther down the slide.

Brian Evans, Kalahari’s water park maintenance manager, has been on Tornado Alley about 20 times. “It’s not like any ride I’ve ridden before,” says Evans. One or two thrill seekers sit in a tube to start and then zoom down the slide. The two funnels add to the fun because they twist and turn the tube in every direction. As the tube dives down and banks up each wall, riders experience stomach-lurching moments of zero gravity. “It’s one surprise after another,” says Evans.

To experience zero gravity, head to Tornado Alley. This action-packed waterslide is one of six new attractions built in 2017 at Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, Ohio. During the topsy-turvy experience, riders drop into two tornado-like funnels and slide up walls before tumbling even farther down the slide.

Brian Evans, Kalahari’s water park maintenance manager, has been on Tornado Alley about 20 times. “It’s not like any ride I’ve ridden before,” says Evans. One or two thrill seekers sit in a tube to start and then zoom down the slide. The two funnels add to the fun because they twist and turn the tube in every direction. As the tube dives down and banks up each wall, riders experience stomach-lurching moments of zero gravity. “It’s one surprise after another,” says Evans.

Each funnel begins with a hair-raising 24-foot drop into the bowl. If the drop of the first funnel begins at point H(15, 35) and ends at point J(44, 11), calculate the slope between the two points.

Once riders drop into the funnel, they reach point K(56, 10). Calculate the slope between point J and point K.

SCHLITTERBAHN GALVESTON • MASSIV

If you’re looking to take a record-breaking ride, MASSIV, named after the German word for massive, holds the record for the tallest water coaster in the world. Located at Schlitterbahn in Galveston, Texas, the ride begins at a towering height of almost 82 feet. Guests hop into two-person tubes and plunge down the first drop. At the bottom of the first drop, strong blasts of water shoot riders uphill and into a series of twisting, translucent chutes.

The first woman to ride MASSIV was Winter Prosapio, who works at Schlitterbahn. Her favorite part? The triple-drop finale. At the end of the ride, MASSIV dips three times, popping riders into the air before they skim like a bug to the end.

“It’s my favorite waterslide,” says Prosapio. “And I ride a lot of waterslides.”

If you’re looking to take a record-breaking ride, MASSIV, named after the German word for massive, holds the record for the tallest water coaster in the world. Located at Schlitterbahn in Galveston, Texas, the ride begins at a towering height of almost 82 feet. Guests hop into two-person tubes and plunge down the first drop. At the bottom of the first drop, strong blasts of water shoot riders uphill and into a series of twisting, translucent chutes.

The first woman to ride MASSIV was Winter Prosapio, who works at Schlitterbahn. Her favorite part? The triple-drop finale. At the end of the ride, MASSIV dips three times, popping riders into the air before they skim like a bug to the end.

“It’s my favorite waterslide,” says Prosapio. “And I ride a lot of waterslides.”