Safety First

Keywords for this resource:

You need Adobe Reader to view this file. Click the icon below if you do not have Adobe Reader.

Make this resource a favourite

You must log in or register to add this to your favourites.

Licence information

This resource is licenced under a Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa licence. When using this resource please attribute Mindset as indicated at http://www.mindset.co.za/creativecommons

Resource description

Lesson 9: Safety First This lesson concludes the series by looking at how these laws of mechanics apply in a real-life situation. The theme is transport and the lesson looks at how to go about choosing a new car. Various safety features of cars are discussed e.g. brakes, steering, air bags, and seat belts. Learners could start their own research before watching this programme so that they are familiar with the features described. The video pauses three times: • The presenter explains that the brake pads grip metal discs and not the rubber of the tyres. She then asks: Why do you think that it is more effective to apply a braking force to the steel wheel-rim and not to the rubber tyres? • After a brief discussion on the inclusion of air bags as a safety feature in a car, the presenter asks: How do air bags actually help passengers in an accident? What principles of physics apply to them? • The presenter describes how the jet engine works by propelling gas out of the jet, and how the escaping gases exert a forward force on the car. She then asks: Do you remember which of Newton’s laws makes a similar statement?