Compare designs that reduce the force in a collision
Grade 11 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.
A 2 kg toy cart at 3 m/s is stopped by a bumper in 0.2 s. What is the average force on it, Ari?
A 0.5 kg toy cart at 8 m/s is stopped by a bumper in 0.05 s. What is the average force on it, Bo?
A 3 kg toy cart at 3 m/s is stopped by a bumper in 0.45 s. What is the average force on it, Esme?
In the bumper table, which bumper bounces the cart back, Luz?
- D, thick foam
- A, foam
- B, spring
Why does a soft bumper lower the force on a stopping cart, Milo?
- It makes the stop take longer
- It makes the stop quicker
- It removes the cart's momentum for free
Compared with stopping a cart, what does bouncing it back do to the change in momentum, Noah?
- Leaves it the same
- Makes it bigger
- Makes it smaller, so it is gentler
What does a bumper that squashes slowly do to the stopping time, Pia?
- Shortens it
- Lengthens it
- Makes it zero
A bumper may add at most 100 g to the cart. Is that a criterion or a constraint, Ren?
- A constraint
- Neither
- A criterion
'The lower the force, the better' describes a design goal. Is that a criterion or a constraint, Tala?
- A criterion
- A constraint
- A test result
Using the bumper table, which bumper keeps the force under 50 N and adds no more than 100 g, Zee?
Bumper tests on a 2 kg toy cart at 3 m/s (example data). Columns: bumper, stop time (s), average force (N), bounces back?, added mass (g). A, foam, 0.2, 30, no, 50; B, spring, 0.1, 120, yes, 80; C, wood, 0.02, 300, no, 40; D, thick foam, 0.4, 15, no, 150. Bumper tests on a 2 kg toy cart at 3 m/s (example data). Columns: bumper, stop time (s), average force (N), bounces back?, added mass (g). A, foam, 0.2, 30, no, 50; B, spring, 0.1, 120, yes, 80; C, wood, 0.02, 300, no, 40; D, thick foam, 0.4, 15, no, 150. Bumper tests on a 2 kg toy cart at 3 m/s (example data) bumper stop time (s) average force (N) bounces back? added mass (g) A, foam 0.2 30 no 50 B, spring 0.1 120 yes 80 C, wood 0.02 300 no 40 D, thick foam 0.4 15 no 150 - D, thick foam
- C, wood
- A, foam