Final answer:
Racecar designers aim to build light cars to enhance acceleration, handling, and gas mileage by employing aerodynamic shaping to reduce drag force. Lightweight materials also improve safety by allowing the vehicle to crumple in a collision to minimize the force on occupants.
Step-by-step explanation:
Designers of racecars, like those used in the Indy 500, strive to make their vehicles as light as possible primarily to increase acceleration and improve handling. A lighter car can accelerate faster because it requires less force to change its velocity, which is explained by Newton's second law of motion (F=ma, where F is the force applied, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration). Additionally, reducing a car's mass can improve its gas mileage, as less energy is needed to propel it forward.
Aerodynamics also play a critical role in the design of a racecar. By shaping a car to be more aerodynamic, the drag force acting against it as it moves at high speeds can be significantly reduced. This is why we see cars with design features like tapered fins, bullet-like shapes, and sleek curves. Such design elements help reduce air resistance, allowing the car to move more efficiently and faster, thus performing better in races.
Another reason for lightweight construction is safety. The use of plastics and materials that can crumple upon impact reduces the force on occupants during a collision. When racing cars were made to crumple strategically in accidents, fatalities decreased because the crumpling effect increases the collision time, decreasing the impact force felt by the drivers.