The Change in Momentum and Car Safety.

How do Crumple Zones, Seatbelts and Airbags work?

HAZARD: People (the driver and passengers) inside a car that crashes
are also exposed to a large force and this can cause injuries.

Safety features
try to minimize the force during a crash by making
the change in momentum happen over a longer period of time
(cycle and motorcycle helmets work in the same way).

What is a Crumple Zone?

The car is designed so that the structure of the car

will give way during a collision. The
metal of the car will dent, bend and fold during a collision
which increases the amount of time it takes the car to stop.
The parts of the car that do this
(the front and the back) are called crumple zones.

How do Seatbelts work?

Car seatbelts protect people in two ways during a crash.

The seatbelt prevents the person being thrown about in the car,
possibly through the windscreen
or hitting themselves on the steering wheel or other objects.
The seatbelt also stretches a little, while restraining
the person during a crash. The stretching
increases the amount of time it takes the person to stop.

How do Airbags work?

Airbags are bags which inflate very quickly during a crash.

They provide a softer surface (like a pillow)
to prevent the people hitting themselves on hard objects.
They are designed to be used with a seatbelt.
An airbag will give way a little when a person hits it and this gives an
extra increase to the amount of time it takes the person to stop.

Bubble wrap packaging has the same effect

and is used to protect objects that are being transported.
 WORK, ENERGY AND POWER

1. A person is performing a lift against a 400 N load. The load moves vertically
through a distance of 20 cm in a time of 0.25 s.
(a) How much work was done on the load?
(b) What is the person's average power during the lift?
(c) What is the load's increased potential energy after the lift?
2. If the load mentioned above was moving at 7.0 m/s after moving 10 cm, what was
its total energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy at this point (assume that the load
started 50 cm from the ground)?
3. How high will a 30 kg object travel after it is released if it is released with a vertical
velocity of 2.0 m/s?
4. How much power is present when a force of 500 N is applied to an object with a
mass of 100 kg that is moving at 6 m/s?

5. What work is done when an object is lowered 1.80 m if the object has a mass of
700 kg?
6. What is the impulse delivered to a catcher's mitt by a 360 g ball that is traveling at
100 km/h and is then stopped by the catcher in .01 s?
7. How high would you have to drop an 80 N object so that it will have a kinetic
energy of 2000 J when it hit the ground?
8. A 55 kg person moves at the constant speed of 7 m/s along a straight stretch of
track. What is the person's:
(a) acceleration
(b) momentum
(c) kinetic energy