How can I investigate what happens to the occupants of a car when the car is in a collision in which it collides head on with a solid object (in my example, it will be a brick), and when a stationary car is hit from behind by a moving car.

Question

What I am using:
Plasticine people
Small carts for cars
Ramps to accelerate the car
And other requested materials

Thank you very much to any one that can provide assistance, I am thinking about becoming an engineer and for me I have found that I ALWAYS learn best by example.

What I would like to know:
How can I construct my model and what should I use
How can I measure and record the damage to the car occupants in each crash
How can I fairly test the effect of increasing the speed of the moving car
How can I fairly test the effect of having my people wear seat belts (use rubber bands? any better ideas?)
How can I fairly test the effect of having a heavier vehicle crash into the rear of my test car (this one is pretty simple, just add some weight to the other cart)
How could I test having an air bag to protect the driver

Answer 1

I don't think your plastic people and small carts will fairly test the effects you seek. You would be better using larger "models", and real life force/impact sensors. These are really not so difficult to obtain, most schools even have these sensors as plug-ins to computers.

Answer 2

Thanks for the suggestion, however I have to complete it using small models with plasticine etc.
It doesn't need to be highly accurate, I just need something that can show a difference between the 2 types of crashes I suppose.

Answer 3

All good, can be closed