How much do you know about how physics and biology combine in a car crash?
Correct.
While you may think that one car is somehow more “worthy” of being crashed than others, the term crashworthiness describes the protection a car offers its occupants during a crash. Crashworthiness involves both the car’s structural design and its restraint system.
Learn more! Check out the Crashworthiness video segment (#8) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: c. How well a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash.
While you may think that one car is somehow more “worthy” of being crashed than others, the term crashworthiness describes the protection a car offers its occupants during a crash. Crashworthiness involves both the car’s structural design and its restraint system.
Learn more! Check out the Crashworthiness video segment (#8) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
We can’t “drive” this home enough — inertia is the reason to wear a seat belt! An occupant is always in motion along with a vehicle. In a crash, an occupant’s body will continue to move forward until it is stopped by an unbalanced force. That’s inertia and Newton’s First Law of Motion. Seat belts help reduce or prevent injuries by applying an unbalanced force that secures people to their seats, so they slow down with the vehicle’s inertia as its crumple zone absorbs some of the vehicle’s crash energy.
Learn more! Check out the Inertia video segment (#2) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: d. The seat belt changes an occupant’s inertia by applying an unbalanced force.
We can’t “drive” this home enough — inertia is the reason to wear a seat belt! An occupant is always in motion along with a vehicle. In a crash, an occupant’s body will continue to move forward until it is stopped by an unbalanced force. That’s inertia and Newton’s First Law of Motion. Seat belts help reduce or prevent injuries by applying an unbalanced force that secures people to their seats, so they slow down with the vehicle’s inertia as its crumple zone absorbs some of the vehicle’s crash energy.
Learn more! Check out the Inertia video segment (#2) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
This is a classic case of “then and now,” where time — and design — changes everything. The 2009 Chevrolet Malibu provides greater protection than the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air due to the improvement in crashworthiness. Innovation in today’s vehicle front ends, called crumple zones, do a better job of absorbing crash forces which then allows the total force of impact to occur over a longer period of time.
Learn more! Check out the brief Crashworthiness Then and Now video.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: a. The newer car — the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu.
This is a classic case of “then and now,” where time — and design — changes everything. The 2009 Chevrolet Malibu provides greater protection than the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air due to the improvement in crashworthiness. Innovation in today’s vehicle front ends, called crumple zones, do a better job of absorbing crash forces which then allows the total force of impact to occur over a longer period of time.
Learn more! Check out the brief Crashworthiness Then and Now video.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
The answer is b. False. The amount of vehicle damage or occupant injury that occurs in a collision is directly related to the collision’s impulse (impulse = impact force x time interval of impact). Lengthening the time during which a “stopping” force is applied to a vehicle (and its occupants) in a collision reduces the final net force acting on the vehicle and its occupants as they come to a stop.
Learn more! Check out the g/Acceleration video segment (#5) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: b. False.
The amount of vehicle damage or occupant injury that occurs in a collision is directly related to the collision’s impulse (impulse = impact force x time interval of impact). Lengthening the time during which a “stopping” force is applied to a vehicle (and its occupants) in a collision reduces the final net force acting on the vehicle and its occupants as they come to a stop.
Learn more! Check out the g/Acceleration video segment (#5) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
Modern cars are designed so the front ends or crumple zones absorb the force of a crash over a longer period of time. Lengthening the time during which a “stopping” force is applied to a vehicle (and its occupants) in a collision reduces the impulse of the collision and the risk of injury to the occupants.
Learn more! Check out the Crashworthiness video segment (#8) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: c. Better engineered front-end.
Modern cars are designed so the front ends or crumple zones absorb the force of a crash over a longer period of time. Lengthening the time during which a “stopping” force is applied to a vehicle (and its occupants) in a collision reduces the impulse of the collision and the risk of injury to the occupants.
Learn more! Check out the Crashworthiness video segment (#8) of It’s Basic Physics.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
The search for ways to limit the forces experienced during extreme acceleration or deceleration began with studies conducted in the 1940s to 1960s. At that time, the focus was on aviation with investigations on how to protect pilots and astronauts from the forces of ejections and high-speed travel. Colonel John Stapp, a U.S. Air Force medical doctor and biophysicist, used himself to test human tolerance to high deceleration forces!
Learn more! Check out the Crash Research History video segment (#3) of When Physics Meets Biology.
For additional information about careers in car crash safety, view the short Inside IIHS Research video.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: d. It’s been going on since the 1940s.
The search for ways to limit the forces experienced during extreme acceleration or deceleration began with studies conducted in the 1940s to 1960s. At that time, the focus was on aviation with investigations on how to protect pilots and astronauts from the forces of ejections and high-speed travel. Colonel John Stapp, a U.S. Air Force medical doctor and biophysicist, used himself to test human tolerance to high deceleration forces!
Learn more! Check out the Crash Research History video segment (#3) of When Physics Meets Biology.
For additional information about careers in car crash safety, view the short Inside IIHS Research video.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
Crash test dummy engineers are no dummies! Their goal is to engineer dummies with such sophisticated instrumentation that they are as close to humans as possible — save for walking and talking, that is. There are entire families of crash test dummies, ranging from large male dummies, to medium-sized females, all the way down to children and infant dummies. In the lab, crash test dummies have sensors to measure acceleration, force, and, in some cases, distortion of body parts. Their use in car crash testing provides a clearer picture of what happens to people and the injuries they may sustain in a car crash.
Learn more! Check out the Crash Test Dummies video segment (#4) of When Physics Meets Biology.
For even more on crash test dummies and how they are automatized, view the Crash Test Dummies at Work video.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answers are: a. You engineer your crash test dummies to be more like human beings in terms of how they move and what types of stresses their bodies measure in a collision; and d. You engineer crash test dummies with sensors that measure and provide data from many different body regions.
Crash test dummy engineers are no dummies! Their goal is to engineer dummies with such sophisticated instrumentation that they are as close to humans as possible — save for walking and talking, that is. There are entire families of crash test dummies, ranging from large male dummies, to medium-sized females, all the way down to children and infant dummies. In the lab, crash test dummies have sensors to measure acceleration, force, and, in some cases, distortion of body parts. Their use in car crash testing provides a clearer picture of what happens to people and the injuries they may sustain in a car crash.
Learn more! Check out the Crash Test Dummies video segment (#4) of When Physics Meets Biology.
For even more on crash test dummies and how they are automatized, view the Crash Test Dummies at Work video.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
The answer is obvious when physics meets biology. In a single car crash, the first collision is between the car and the other object (e.g., tree, wall, truck, etc.). The second collision is between the occupant and the car’s interior. And the third is between the occupant’s internal organs and the inside walls of their body cavities.
Learn more! Check out The Third Collision video segment (#6) of When Physics Meets Biology.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answer is: a. Three collisions in a single crash.
The answer is obvious when physics meets biology. In a single car crash, the first collision is between the car and the other object (e.g., tree, wall, truck, etc.). The second collision is between the occupant and the car’s interior. And the third is between the occupant’s internal organs and the inside walls of their body cavities.
Learn more! Check out The Third Collision video segment (#6) of When Physics Meets Biology.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
Technology-assisted data collection from race car driving and crashes has contributed to huge improvements in vehicle design for those of us who are not race car drivers. In fact, it’s because of this research that today’s drivers are more likely to survive car crashes. Scientists and engineers continue to search for innovative ways to reduce harmful forces on drivers by lengthening the amount of collision time in car crashes.
Learn more! Check out the Reducing Crash Injuries video segment (#12) of When Physics Meets Biology.
NEXT QUESTIONSorry. The correct answers are: a. Crumple zones on the vehicle that absorb energy on impact; and c. A framework of reinforced metal to create a safety cage around vehicle occupants.
Technology-assisted data collection from race car driving and crashes has contributed to huge improvements in vehicle design for those of us who are not race car drivers. In fact, it’s because of this research that today’s drivers are more likely to survive car crashes. Scientists and engineers continue to search for innovative ways to reduce harmful forces on drivers by lengthening the amount of collision time in car crashes.
Learn more! Check out the Reducing Crash Injuries video segment (#12) of When Physics Meets Biology.
NEXT QUESTIONCorrect.
Vehicle collisions are more accurately called crashes. In everyday conversation the terms “accident” and “crash” are often used interchangeably, but scientists and engineers distinguish between the two. Crashes are physical events and therefore have predictable consequences. In a crash, when forces are high on vehicle occupants, there is a potential for damage to human tissue and organs. Keeping people safe during crashes has everything to do with the physics and biology involved in extending impact time, keeping the occupant compartment intact, and tying the occupants to the compartment.
Learn more! Check out the Conclusion video segment (#14) of When Physics Meets Biology.
SEE YOUR SCORESorry. The correct answer is: b. Vehicle collisions should be called crashes.
Vehicle collisions are more accurately called crashes. In everyday conversation the terms “accident” and “crash” are often used interchangeably, but scientists and engineers distinguish between the two. Crashes are physical events and therefore have predictable consequences. In a crash, when forces are high on vehicle occupants, there is a potential for damage to human tissue and organs. Keeping people safe during crashes has everything to do with the physics and biology involved in extending impact time, keeping the occupant compartment intact, and tying the occupants to the compartment.
Learn more! Check out the Conclusion video segment (#14) of When Physics Meets Biology.
SEE YOUR SCOREThanks for taking the quiz. We hope you learned more about the connection between physics, biology, and car crashes, and how teams of experts use science principles to help keep drivers and passengers safe on the roads.
Learn more at classroom.iihs.org.