Car Crash Analysis

This car crash shows a mini cooper during a crash test. We followed the passenger during the crash in order to calculate their acceleration, velocity, and position during the crash. By using the Logger Pro software, we were able create a Velocity vs. Time graph showing the passengers position (dots) and velocity (triangles). In the above graph, it shows the passenger before the crash. We see that the slope is constant and then changes before the crash begins. The slope relates to the stats of the velocity graph.

This graph shows the passenger during the car crash. In a position vs. time graph, it is in a quadratic form ax2+bx+c. To get velocity from this equation, we take the derivative. And to get the acceleration, we take the derivative of the new velocity equation we get the acceleration. This can be directly applied to the passenger. The slope corresponds to the velocity and is a flat velocity. When there is a curve in the position, there is a straight line velocity. The slope right before the crash and carrying on into the crash is -.5617 m/s which corresponds to the mean of the velocity which means that the velocity is -.5617 m/s. We see that the acceleration (or slope) is 1.153 m/s/s.

Personally, I would not own a mini cooper because they are too small for my taste. Based off the video, the car crumples too much and I'm pretty sure I would die...and I would rather not die.