Question

An engineer wants to build a race car which will be able to speed up and slow down quickly. She is trying to determine which material to use to build the car. The table shows the materials she can choose from. Which material would best allow the car to speed up and slow down quickly?


Responses

aluminum
aluminum

copper
copper

lead
lead

steel

Answer 1

To determine which material would allow the race car to speed up and slow down quickly, we should consider factors such as weight, strength, and how well each material can withstand the forces involved in racing.

1. **Aluminum**: Known for its light weight and good strength-to-weight ratio, aluminum allows for quicker acceleration and deceleration.

2. **Copper**: While it has excellent electrical conductivity and some beneficial thermal properties, it is significantly heavier than aluminum, which can hinder acceleration.

3. **Lead**: This material is very heavy and would not be suitable for a race car that needs to speed up and slow down quickly.

4. **Steel**: Strong and durable, steel is also quite heavy compared to aluminum, which could affect the car's performance negatively in terms of speed.

Given these considerations, **aluminum** would be the best choice for the engineer's race car to enable it to speed up and slow down quickly, due to its combination of lightweight properties and strength.