NORTHERN HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL

Honors Physics Mr. Menzella The Egg Mobile Adapted from Mr. Brunner Design Brief The popularity of the automobile has brought with it some undesirable effects. Among these are air pollution, traffic jams, and traffic fatalities. Each year, thou- sands of people are killed and injured as a result of automobile accidents. Be- cause of this, design has become a major part of the auto in- dustry. The National Automobile Underwriter’s Insurance Association is very concerned about the number of accidents that are occurring and the amount of money that insurance companies must payout to their policy holders for body injuries received during these acci- dents. Safety engi- neers have conclud- ed that passenger re- straints are one safe- ty device that could reduce automobile fatalities dramatical- ly. Seat belts and shoulder harnesses keep passengers from being thrown from the vehicle or bounce around the vehicle’s interior causing injury. Another category of safety devices is energy absorbing devices. They absorb or cushion the impact of collision. Some examples of an energy absorbing sys- tems are , bumpers and crumple zones. Your engineering firm is required to design a better energy absorbing crum- ple zone system and a better seat restraint system for protecting the occupants in the vehicle. Budget

Fill out the material order form with the Quantity (number of each item) and total cost for that item (Cost * Quantity). Design the least expensive model. Visit the website below for pricing information: http://www.knex.com/Shop/home.php?cat=339

Material Cost Quantity Cost x Quantity

Semi Circular Connector 0.26

Circular Connector 0.34

Tan Connector 0.12

Metallic Connector 0.2

Triangular Connector 0.16

Orange Connector 0.15

Tire Insert 1 1/2" 0.33

Black 1 1/2" 1.12

Flexi Rod 7 1/2" 1.1

Rod 3 7/16" 0.16

Rod 1 5/16" 0.08

Rod 5 1/8" 0.26

Seat Restraint Material

Crumple Zone Material Design Criteria

 Build a vehicle that will remain intact during a head on crash.  The frame of your must be built using K’Nex pieces.  Develop and build a crumple zone system us- ing material(s) other than K’Nex that will ab- sorb enough energy to allow occupants to survive a head on crash without injury.  The crumple zone should increase the time that the vehicle is moving until it reaches a compete stop.  The crumple zone should absorb energy and reduce the of the impact to the occu- pants.  Develop and build a seat restraint system us- ing material(s) other than K’Nex that will keep the occupant in there seats uninjured during a head on crash.  The test vehicle’s design should simulate a re- al automobile as much as possible.  The test vehicle must hold one occupant (Grade A, raw chicken egg).  The seats and seat restraint safety system must be designed so that the occupants can be placed in and removed easily.  There can be no physical contact between the device and the designer once the vehicle has been released on the track.  The design must allow for easy removal and inspection of the egg. The egg will be pro- vided by your teacher, and will be put into the car when time has elapsed. Have you been injured? Call today: 201.327.8700  Repairs requiring additional materials will not be allowed once the competition has Evaluation/Redesign Essay Make sure you explain the following points in MLA format: 1) Performance of Crumple Zones and Seat Restraints (explain in applied physics terms—impact force, absorb, reaction force, etc.) 2) Why do I need to wear a seatbelt? What style of seatbelt protects me best? 3) How would you modify your design to improve its performance? 4) Why are some safer than other cars? How do scientists determine safety in cars? 5) How many deaths/injuries per year are the results of car accidents? What percent- age of these involves teens? 6) How can science help me become a safer driver? Scoring All materials used are within regulations. yes/no

80 points are awarded if project is built according to the rules.

Price of vehicle: ______

1-10 points will be granted on the price of the vehicle. Cheapest will receive 10 points, most expensive=1.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Points are awarded based on the survival of your egg.

20 – Egg survives the crash fully intact. 16 – Egg is cracked, but intact. 14 – Egg is broken (any white or dampness com- ing out of shell). 10 – Egg is destroyed (smashed to bits, yolk ooz- ing out, etc.).

Scoring

Element Scored Score Score Score Score 8 6 4 2

Peformance of At least 4 facts about At least 3 facts about At least 2 facts about At least 1 fact about Crumple Zones and crumple zones & seat the crumple zones & crumple zones & seat crumple zones & seat Seat Restraints restraints and 4 pictures seat restraints and 3 restraints and 2 pic- restraints and 1 picture. (side, front, rear and top pictures. tures. view).

Evaluation Comparison between Comparison between Comparison between Comparison between your designs and all of your test and most, but your test and a few of your test and one of your classmates. An- not all, of your class- your classmates. An- your classmates. swers all redesign ques- mates. Answers all rede- swers all redesign ques- tions. Answers all rede- sign questions. Answers tions. Answers all rede- sign questions using all redesign questions. sign questions. graphs, data tables, charts, etc.