Why are cars designed so that their front ends crumple during an accident?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Cars are designed with crumple zones to absorb the energy from an impact during a crash, thus reducing the force exerted on passengers. This works by increasing the duration of the collision, resulting in a decrease in acceleration. This ultimately improves the safety of the car's occupants.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Car Crumple Zones

A car's front end, also known as the crumple zone, is specifically designed to absorb energy during a collision. This is achieved by the materials used and the specific structure of the car's front end.
02

Law of Conservation of Momentum

The law of conservation of momentum states that in a closed system, the total momentum before an event must be equal to the total momentum after the event. It is key to understanding this concept because when a car collides with another object, this law applies.
03

Energy Transfer

When a car crashes, the car's momentum changes rapidly, which means there is a large force involved. If this force acted directly on the passengers, it would be extremely harmful. Therefore, the crumple zone absorbs this energy, transferring it from the occupants to the car's body.
04

The Role of Time

The crumple zone also increases the duration of the collision. By increasing the time, the acceleration experienced by the car and its passengers decreases. This reduces the forces acting on the passengers, further protecting them from harm.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

During a crash test, a car moving at \(50 \mathrm{km} / \mathrm{h}\) collides with a rigid barrier and comes to a complete stop in 200 ms. The collision force as a function of time is given by \(F=a t^{4}+b t^{3}+c t^{2}+d t\) where \(\quad a=-8.86 \mathrm{GN} / \mathrm{s}^{4}, b=3.27 \mathrm{GN} / \mathrm{s}^{3}, c=-362 \mathrm{MN} / \mathrm{s}^{2}\) and \(d=12.5 \mathrm{MN} / \mathrm{s}\). Find (a) the total impulse imparted by the collision, (b) the average collisional force, and (c) the car's mass.

Compared with the time between bounces, the duration of each collision is a. a tiny fraction of the time between bounces. b. a significant fraction of the time between bounces. c. much longer than the time between bounces.

On an icy road, a \(1200-\mathrm{kg}\) car moving at \(50 \mathrm{km} / \mathrm{h}\) strikes a \(4400-\mathrm{kg}\) truck moving in the same direction at \(35 \mathrm{km} / \mathrm{h}\). The pair is soon hit from behind by a \(1500-\mathrm{kg}\) car speeding at \(65 \mathrm{km} / \mathrm{h},\) and all three vehicles stick together. Find the speed of the wreckage.

You're with 19 other people on a boat at rest in frictionless water. The group's total mass is \(1500 \mathrm{kg}\), and the boat's mass is \(12,000 \mathrm{kg} .\) The entire party walks the \(6.5-\mathrm{m}\) distance from bow to stern. How far does the boat move?

The momentum of a system of pool balls is the same before and after they are hit by the cue ball. Is it still the same after one of the balls strikes the edge of the table? Explain.

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free