Crumple Zones_Gizmo - Student Exploration

Student Exploration: Crumple Zones Vocabulary: acceleration, airbag, collision avoidance system, crash test dummy, crumple zone, force, kinetic energy, Newton’s laws of motion, safety cell, seat belt, work, work-energy theorem Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) Two burglars run down an alley at night, trying to escape the cops. Jack is carrying a rigid metal safe. Jill is carrying an armful of antique quilts. In the pitch dark, they both collide headlong into a concrete wall. 1. Who do you think will be hurt more in the collision, and why? 2. During a car crash, what features of the car might act like either Jack’s safe or Jill’s quilts? Gizmo Warm-up When cars were first invented, the safety of passengers was not a great concern. As vehicles grew larger and faster, accidents became more deadly. Safety features went from being a rare luxury to a legal requirement. In the Crumple Zones Gizmo, you will design cars that will help a crash test dummy survive a collision. 1. To begin, do not make any changes to the DESIGN tab of the Gizmo. Select the CRASH TEST tab, and click Play ( ). After the crash, click Slo-mo replay. What happens? 2. Select the RESULTS tab to read about the results of the crash. Do you think a passenger would have survived this car crash? Explain. Sarthak Sahai 11 April 2020 I think the thief with the metal safe will be hurt more since because the quilt with act like a cushion whereas the safe would just increase the impact on thief During a car crash, the airbag would act like Jill's quilts since it decreases the impact on his body. If the airbag wasn't present, the steering wheel would behave like Jack's safe since the impact would be much harder as compared to the airbag. the seat belt prevents the face from hitting the steering wheel too! Due to the absence of the seat belt, airbag or the collision avoidance system, the crash test dummy jerks forward and hits the steering wheel due to Newtons first law of motion (Inertia) The results say the dummy hit the steering wheel. The dummy wasn't wearing a seat belt either which means the car decelerated at about 20000m/s^2. So I don't think the passenger would survive the crash.