Intro

=__**PROJECT DESCRIPTION**__=

During the next __2 1/2__ weeks you and your peers will analyze the evidence from a car crash scene. You will use your understanding of momentum, collisions, kinematics, energy and forces to determine how the accident occurred. The main focus of the project is to determine who was at fault. Each of the invented car crash scenarios involves two vehicles. The driver of vehicle 2 dies in the crash. Driver 1 is suspected to be at fault and must be defended in court using evidence from the crash scene.

You will work with a team of 2-4 other students – either as the Technical Experts hired by the Legal Defense or The Technical Experts hired by the Prosecution. You will be assigned to a team. Each member of the team will be assigned a specific role:


 * 1) Spokesperson and group leader, who will serve as organizer of the group. The Spokesperson leads the presentation.
 * 2) Mathematical analyst, who will be responsible for providing a mathematical analysis
 * 3) Conceptual analyst, who will provide a conceptual explanation citing the laws of physics
 * 4) Technical assistant who will assist either or both analysts (this role is only used for groups of 4)

Your team will prepare a presentation to a group of lawyers that needs your perspective to formulate their court arguments. Your findings and explanation will make the difference if or not the team of lawyers will win their case.

Check the Project Calendar for daily assignments, homework and due dates. If you are absent, you must make arrangements with your group to address your responsibilities. We do not anticipate changing any due dates.

__Some__ of the questions that you may consider may include: 1. Who was at fault? 2. What were the speeds of the vehicles before, during and after the collision? 3. What forces (on the cars and their occupants) were acting during the collision? 4. Did the driver(s) violate any local driving laws?

Your team will work together to complete the analysis and explanation, but each individual will have a secondary area of expertise in order to divide up some of the work (Spokesperson or analyst). Of course, when not busy on your primary role, you should be helping out one of your team mates, so that the job is finished on time and you are fully versed in all of the details of the case and how it was solved. For example, although one of you will serve as the spokesperson, the spokesperson is expected to help gather and analyze the data. On the other hand, the analyst will written material that the Spokesperson will use as their script in their presentation.

All work on this project will remain in the group folder on the HonorsPhysicsRocks Wikispace (http://honorsphysicsrocks.wikispaces.com/CarCrash). This will be done to prevent any delay in case of absence. If one or more members of the group happen to be out one of the workdays, the remaining members of the group will adopt their position(s) for the day, without stopping. If one or more members are out for an extended time and cannot participate fully in this project, they should expect to be reassigned, either to a new group with people who were also out, or to a new independent project.

Each person should keep a daily log //(sort of an online notebook)// in their own wikispace folder that includes the following:
 * 1) A brief description of what you did that day
 * 2) Tables of data that you gathered
 * 3) Calculations & diagrams you created
 * 4) Any homework assignments that were completed
 * 5) An explanation why you did not do anything that day

//Your Daily Log should be organized in chronological order using the dates from the project calendar. Please note, that your daily log contributes to your group's grade -- so be sure that your performance is satisfactory to the group.//

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