Final answer:
Crumple zones in cars are designed to absorb and distribute the force of a collision over a longer period of time, reducing the impact on passengers and increasing their chances of survival.
Step-by-step explanation:
Crumple zones in cars are designed to absorb and distribute the force of a collision over a longer period of time, reducing the impact on passengers. By increasing the time of impact, the force exerted on the passengers is reduced, thus reducing the risk of injury. This is achieved by using materials and structures that can crumple or collapse upon impact, such as the front and rear sections of the car.
For example, if a sedan with a crumple zone length of 110 cm is involved in a crash at 60 mph (27 m/s), the crumple zone would collapse and absorb a significant portion of the impact force, increasing the survival chances of the passengers to greater than 50%. Similarly, in a crash at 36 mph (16 m/s), the crumple zone would further absorb the force, increasing the survival chances of the passengers to greater than 80%.
Designing a sedan with effective crumple zones involves using engineered materials and safety features to absorb kinetic energy and reduce force impact on occupants, using principles of impulse and momentum to provide higher survival rates in crashes.
Designing a sedan with a crumple zone of 110 cm that offers a significant chance of survival in high-speed crashes involves understanding the physics of impact and the role of crumple zones in absorbing kinetic energy. Crumple zones are designed to deform during a crash, which increases the time over which the force is applied, thus reducing the force experienced by the occupants according to impulse-momentum theory.
For instance, when calculating the force exerted by a seatbelt on a passenger who is brought to a halt in a collision, knowing the passenger's mass and the deceleration time is essential. To apply this to the design of the sedan, you would consider materials and structural designs that deform systematically to absorb energy efficiently, incorporate safety features like seatbelts and airbags that distribute forces over wider areas of the body and operate over longer times to reduce the overall force impact.
Engineered materials, advanced safety features, and scientific principles of impulse and momentum are critical in designing a vehicle that can provide higher survival rates at the specified crash speeds.