Please do not write on this sheet – It may be used by other students
Physics of Car Crashes
1. How does a car act like a cardboard
box in an accident?
2. As the stopping distance decreases,
what happens to the stopping force?
3. Force times Distance = What?
4. During a crash, what is designed to
happen to the occupant compartment
in a modern car?
5. In a crash which of the following vehicles do you think would be safest for the
occupants? A large car, a small car or a van?
6. In a crash which of the following vehicles do you think would be less safe for the
occupants? A large car, a small car or a van?
7. In accidents involving pedestrians and cars, which car is safest for the pedestrian? A
vehicle with a bull-bar or a vehicle without this bar. Why?
8. According to Newton’s Law – “A moving body will keep moving until .... ( fill in )”
9. To stop the driver hitting the steering wheel all cars are now fitted with .... ( fill in )
10. When the stopping distance increases what happens to the forces on the occupants?
11. “The faster the car goes, the more -------- ----------- ( fill in ) it has.”
12. If 2 cars collide at 80km/hr the work done is .... ( fill in ) so it is the same
as/greater/less ( circle the correct answer ) than if a single car collides with a barrier
at 80km/hr.
13. KE = What?
14. If you double the stopping speed what happens to the stopping distance?
15. If you triple the stopping speed what happens to the stopping distance?
16. If you quadruple ( 4 times ) the stopping speed what happens to the stopping
distance?
17. If you have an accident at 50km/hr it has the same force as if you were dropped from
a .......... ( fill in ) building.
18. If you have an accident at 100km/hr it has the same force as if you were dropped
from a .......... ( fill in ) building.
Ref:Document1