SCIENCE JOURNAL 2018

S peeding K ills Marcus Ibsen

factor in our road statistics’ will discuss the physical concepts and evidence related to speed- ing and the outcomes from this. A discussion of both environmental and technological factors is made to prove their influence on the ability of physics to address the issue of speed related ac- cidents. Physical Concepts Kinetic Energy A force is any interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity, in other words to accelerate or decelerate. The force in which all moving vehicles experience is kinetic energy – energy of motion. Similar to potential energy, kinetic energy is increased if the mass and/or speed is also increased. A for- mula can express this relationship; as seen in the following: KE = 1 / 2 mv 2 where m = mass and v = velocity. (Nice, 2018) Contrary to perceived outcomes, kinetic energy increases with velocity squared. If for example an object is moving twice its original speed, then the kinetic energy is four times greater (Nice, 2018). Because of this, a vehicle acceler- ating from 0-5ms -1 can do so faster than a ve- hicle accelerating from 20-25ms -1 . This can be identified in the following calculations: 0-5ms -1 KE = ( 1 / 2 m X 5 2 ) - ( 1 / 2 m X 0 2 ) KE = 25 J 20-25ms -1 KE = ( 1 / 2 m X 25 2 ) - ( 1 / 2 m X 20 2 ) KE = 2 25 J When comparing the two results, the kinetic en- ergy needed to travel from 20-25ms -1 is , where- as the kinetic energy needed to travel from 0-5ms -1 is . Thus, objects traveling at higher speeds see exponential increases in kinetic en- ergy. When implementing this relationship into crash

Abstract In our current modern society, humans have become heavily dependent on vehicles to cope with daily transportation and commuting de- mand. Although this freedom is hugely benefi- cial for most, a challenge faced among all driv- ers has developed as a result of this – common- ly known as ‘speeding’. Due to the relationship between kinetic energy and reaction/braking distance, speeding causes fatalities for many. Moreover, weather and road surface conditions prove to amplify the outcomes experienced during vehicle accidents. Because of this, tech- nological developments have been made and enforced to all vehicles to reduce injury sever- ity among passengers. Introduction In current society, large improvements to pro- ductivity and efficiency have been made due to developments in urban lifestyle. As a result of this, daily commuting on roads has become a norm of life for most. However, a consequence of this freedom is being exploited, leading many to beg the question ‘every K over is a killer’. Research into ‘why is speed such a significant

SC J SI

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Somerset College Journal of Scientific Issues

Year 10