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Collisions

The document describes an experiment to analyze how different car bumper designs affect the force of a collision. In the experiment, toy car 1 will roll down a ramp and collide with toy car 2. The distance toy car 2 moves after the collision will be measured with no bumper, a hard bumper, and a soft bumper to determine which design minimizes the collision force. Students will create their own hard and soft bumper designs, conduct trials, and analyze the results to understand how bumper material affects elasticity and force of impact.

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22 views4 pages

Collisions

The document describes an experiment to analyze how different car bumper designs affect the force of a collision. In the experiment, toy car 1 will roll down a ramp and collide with toy car 2. The distance toy car 2 moves after the collision will be measured with no bumper, a hard bumper, and a soft bumper to determine which design minimizes the collision force. Students will create their own hard and soft bumper designs, conduct trials, and analyze the results to understand how bumper material affects elasticity and force of impact.

Uploaded by

x86.starblast
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Collisions

Estimated Time: 1.5 hours


You may type directly into this template or print out the template to write on.

We experience all sorts of collisions every day: our feet hitting the ground as we run, our
fingers drumming on the table, a ball bouncing up and down. Sometimes we use collisions to
our advantage, like utilizing the obstacles in mini golf. In other instances, like car safety, we
want to minimize the impacts of collisions. In this activity, you will analyze the design of car
bumpers and evaluate their effectiveness in a collision.

1. Materials
You will need:

 Two identical toy cars


 A ramp
 A box
 Ruler or meterstick
 Everyday household items and craft supplies

2. Procedure
Position car 1 at the top of the ramp and car 2 on the floor at the base of the ramp as shown in
figure 1. Throughout the experiment, you will release car 1 so that it travels down the ramp
and collides with car 2. The force that car 2 experiences during the collisions will be measured
indirectly by calculating the distance car 2 moves away from its starting position. The greater
the force, the greater the distance car 2 will travel. The experiment will collect three sets of
data for car 2: one when it has no bumper, one when it has a hard bumper, and one when it has
a soft bumper.

Figure 1
1. What is the independent variable or the thing being changed by the experimenter?

Whether the car has a bumper and what type the bumper is.

2. What is the dependent variable or the outcome that is being observed and
measured?
How far the second car will travel.

3. What factors should remain constant in the experiment to make sure the results are
consistent and reliable?

The mass of cars 1 and 2, the length and material of the ramp, the gravitational
environment, the height, the material of the surface.

4. The control does not receive any experimental treatment and serves as a baseline to
compare results. What is the control in this experiment?

The control for this experiment is the car 2 with no bumper, so that we can compare the
results from the bumper to the car’s natural.

5. How should measurements of car 2 be taken to accurately measure the distance it


travels? Be sure to indicate where the ruler should be placed.
First, the same ruler has to be used, secondly, the ruler’s 0cm must be placed in line with the
second car’s end.

3. Explore
1. Your mission is to design two different bumpers for car 2 at the bottom of the ramp
that will minimize the collision force. Create one bumper using hard materials like
metal, wood, or plastic. Create the second bumper using soft materials like foam,
cotton balls, or fabric. Record your description of the bumper you made and the
results of the collision in table 1.
Table 1

Description and/or Observations about Distance car 2


picture of the bumper the collision (indicate travelled after the
made for car 2 whether the collision collision in
was elastic or inelastic) centimeters
Trial 1 – No Bumper 33 cm
Elastic because both
surfaces were hard

Trial 2 – Hard A piece of plastic 1 cm 21 cm


Bumper Design thick
Elastic because the
bumper and both
surfaces are hard
Trial 3 – Soft Bumper Inelastic because the 15 cm
Design bumper is soft.
A cloth

4. Explain
1. Which trial was the most effective at reducing the collision force and why?
The soft bumper design was the most effective because the design took most of the force that
was transferred during the collision.

2. Figure 2 shows two different bumper designs for car 2. Recall that if colliding
objects have hard surfaces, the collision is often elastic.

Figure 2

a. Based on this description, which bumper design is more likely to result in an


elastic collision? Explain your answer.
Design B, because the metal bar is harder and cannot take as much force
compared to design A, which will result in more force transferred to car 2.

b. Predict whether each bumper design will increase or decrease the force that
car 2 experiences during the collision. Explain how you made your prediction.
Both will decrease, because at least some force will be transferred upon the
bumper. However, design A will take more force because a balloon can crumple.

3. To ensure that a vehicle crash is inelastic, vehicle safety designers add crumple
zones to vehicles. A crumple zone is a part of a vehicle designed to crumple easily
in a crash. Use Newton’s second law to explain why crumple zones reduce the
force in a collision.

Crumple zones in cars help make crashes less forceful by letting some parts of the
car crush and bend. This bending takes time, which makes the car's speed change
more slowly during the crash. Newton's second law says that when things slow
down more slowly, the force is smaller, which makes crashes safer for people
inside the car.

5. Extend (optional)
Can you create a simulation that models your trials using the PhET Collision lab?

1. Open PhET Collision Lab (opens in new window)


2. Select Explore 2D
3. You can adjust the masses and positions of the objects and the elasticity of the collision.
4. Upload a screenshot of your simulation below!

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