1. Unit 5
Forces and Motion

2. Choosing A Safe Vehicle
Activity 73
Choosing A Safe Vehicle

3. Activity 73: Choosing A Safe Vehicle
Challenge  Which vehicle do you think is safer?
Key Vocabulary:
Evidence
Advantage
Disadvantage
Trade-off
physics
Definitions are on a different slide!

4. Warm-Up
Write the words CAR ACCIDENT in your notes. Write down the first ten things that come to mind when you hear those words.
Did you know that car accidents…
The leading cause of death by unintentional injury for ages 1-44
Most commonly affect people ages and over 75

5. How has this been evident over time?
What do car accidents have to do with science?
Understanding the physics of why and how cars move help engineers to design better, safer cars
How has this been evident over time?

6. What is PHYSICS?
Physics is the science that deals with matter, energy, motion, and force.
Evidence is information that is gained by direct observation or from reliable sources and can be used to formulate ideas about the natural world.

7. What measurements do you think scientists and engineers find useful when studying car safety and accidents?
As we move through this unit, we will be learning the specifics of forces and motion that helps engineers and scientists make vehicles safer

8. What about different types of vehicles?
Each vehicle has a Crash-Test Rating
This is a five-star rating scale developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) that is used to determine the likelihood of injuries that could occur from a collision

9. Front-End Collisions
Tests are run on each vehicle and a score is given to each based on three criteria:
head injury
chest deceleration
femur load

10. Rear-End Collisions
This is a four-level, color-coded system used by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS):
Good = green
Acceptable = yellow
Marginal = orange
Poor = red

11. Procedures (Page E-5) Lets read the introduction together as a class.
With a partner from your group, complete steps 1 and 2.
Get a copy of Student Sheet 73.1 from your teacher.
Continue to steps 3 and 4.

12. Advantages/ Disadvantages
What are some of the advantages for Car 1?
What are some disadvantages?
What are some of the advantages for Car 2?
What are some of the trade-offs of choosing one of these cars? (What advantages are you giving up to gain a different advantage?)

13. Procedures (Page E-5) Continue to Part B.
Complete steps 5-7 with your partner now.

14. Is this what you had?

15. Analysis Questions
AQ3: What factors other than safety do people consider when buying a car?
People typically consider looks (color, style), price, cargo size, how many passengers can fit, and fuel economy. It is likely that people think that looks are important feature, although performance or price are also important.

16. AQ4: Do you think that features can:
A: reduce damage, injuries, and fatalities in car accidents? Explain
Features such as seat belts or airbags reduce the effects of accidents by padding the impact
B: prevent accidents?
Brakes that function well or mirrors and visors improve the ability to see can prevent accidents. Height can prevent rollovers and that better handling (or even greater acceleration) can help drivers avoid accidents

17. AQ5: Which vehicle do you think is safer?
If you support Vehicle 1  the greater height or mass, lower top speed, or slower acceleration make it more safe
If you support Vehicle 2  the number of airbags and shorter stopping distance make it more safe.

18. Follow Up Discussion
Look back at what you wrote in your notebooks for procedure step 1. Have you changed your mind about anything since completing the activity?
What are some questions about car accidents and car features that you would like answered to help you to decide what makes a safe car?