It’s Time to Race!!!Egg Crash Test Cars

Students will understand the principles of experimental design and how Newton’s Laws apply to crash tests.

Learning Goal

Your crash test dummy, Egg-Man, needs to survive a high-speed crash into the wall. You must design and create a race car that will allow him to survive the collision and roll away unscathed.

The Problem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u49JdRXu_mQ

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Crashworthiness - how well a vehicle can protect its occupant in a crash. Note that this does not mean the car itself needs to remain undamaged after a crash.

Things to think about

Resilience - how much energy (impact) an object can absorb

Things to think about

Mass - how much weight something has. The more mass, the faster the car will collect kinetic energy (speed) as it rolls downhill.

Things to think about

Momentum - the force that keeps an object in motion. Objects with more mass have more momentum. In other words, a heavy car moving at the same speed as a light car will be much harder to stop. Heavy cars will quickly accumulate momentum which results in higher speeds, but also greater impact

Things to think about

Force: How do Newton’s law relate to to car crashes?

Things to think about

Like a real car, the occupant (egg) must be able to easily enter and exit the car. Your egg may not be permanently incased inside the car.

You must submit a design before receiving your construction materials

Your designed must be tested and approved with a plastic egg before Egg-Man will enter your vehicle.

Restrictions