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Push! Pull! How does force make a roller coaster move? A roller coaster continues moving mostly because of gravity. The only other thing that is involved is a lift hill. That's the first hill. It's always the biggest because the momentum from the first hill carries the coaster car up the rest of the hills (so they need to be lower than the lift hill). Gravity, however, is really the most important force. Gravity pulls everything toward the earth. It also gives people weight. The energy built up from the lift hill decides just how high the hills can be, and just how low they can go while keeping the coaster moving. Centripetal force makes sure passengers don’t fall out of their seat as the roller coaster goes around a loop. There are only two different kinds of energy that make a roller coaster go, but several forces play a role in how it works! 
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