Class No.

20 Content (5) ____

Name: Mechanics (5) ____
Gr. & Sec.: Presentation (5) ____
Organization (5) ____

Buckle Up

I. Objectives
At the end of the activity, I should be able to
1. explain the need to use seatbelts when riding a car,
2. identify the law of motion involved in the experiment and when
we are riding cars, and
3. state the relationships between force, motion and direction.

II. Problems
1. How are force, motion and direction related?
2. What principle of motion is behind the need to use seatbelts?

III. Materials
4-by12-inch (10-by-30-cm) piece of cardboard (size is not critical)
2 books, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick each
masking tape
pencil
walnut-size piece of modeling clay
small toy car
12-inch (30-cm) piece of ¼-inch (0.6-cm) ribbon (or any narrow
ribbon)
IV. Procedure
1. Place one end of the edge of the cardboard on the edge of the
book.
2. Tape the other end of the cardboard to the table.
3. Tape the pencil to the table about two-car lengths from the
taped end of the cardboard.
4. Make a clay figure shaped like a snowman.
5. Flatten the bottom of the clay figure and gently rest it on the

hood of the toy car. Do NOT press the clay onto the car.
6. Position the car and clay figure at the raised end of the
cardboard.
7. Release the car and watch it roll down the cardboard and

collide into the pencil. Observe and note what happens.

8. Raise the cardboard by placing a second book. Repeat steps 6
and 7. Record your observations.
9. Use the ribbon to tie the clay figure to the car then, repeat steps
6 and 7. Observe and note what happens.
10.Raise the board again using 2 books and repeat steps 6 and 7.
Record your observations.

V. Data and Results

A. Car and clay figure rolled down the board raised on a book

Observation: The clay figure sailed through the air.

Trial Distance of clay figure from the car (in inches)
Trial 1 2 inches
Trial 2 2.5 inches
Trial 3 2.3 inches
 B. Car and clay figure with ribbon rolled down the board
raised on two books without ribbon

Observation: The clay figure was thrown off the car at a

farther distance.
Trial Distance of clay figure from the car (in inches)
Trial 1 3.7 inches
Trial 2 4 inches
Trial 3 4 inches

C. Car and clay figure with ribbon rolled down the raised
board

Observation: The clay figure remained on the car.

D. Car and clay figure with ribbon rolled down the board
raised on two books

Observation: The clay figure stayed on the car.

VI. Interpretation of results

A. The clay figure was moving at the same speed as the
toy car. When the toy car’s wheels bumped into the pencil,
only the car stopped because it was the only one that
received an opposing outside force. According to Newton’s
First Law of Motion, an object at rest remains at rest, and
an object in motion remains in motion in a straight line at
constant speed unless acted upon by unbalanced forces.
Since the clay figure was not affected by any unbalanced
force such as the pencil, it continued to move at the
 direction it was going when it rolled down the board with
the car, thus, throwing it out of the hood.

B. When the board was raised higher using another book,

the car’s speed was increased and so the clay figure also
moves at a higher speed. When the car suddenly stopped,
the clay figure was thrown out a farther distance because
of the increased speed.

C. In the third part, when the clay figure was tied with a
ribbon to the car, it remained on the car because the ribbon
provided the restraining force on the figure. This prevented
the figure from being thrown out.

D. When the car was rolled with the tied up clay figure from
a higher starting point, they both traveled at the same
increased speed but like the previous part, the ribbon
prevented the figure from being thrown out.

VII. Conclusion
As was stated earlier in Newton’s First Law of motion, moving
objects continue to move forward until something stops them. The
ribbon around the clay figure served as a seat belt. This explains
why the law requires us to wear seat belts when riding a car. Like the
clay figure, we are also traveling at the same speed as the car we are
riding. The seat belt keeps us from getting hurt when the car
suddenly stops. If we are not wearing seat belts, we will keep going
until something like the dashboard or the front seat stops us and this
is very dangerous especially when the car runs very fast. The faster
it goes, the greater the danger we are in when we do not wear the
belts.
From this experiment, I’ve learned that Newton’s First Law of
Motion stating that an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in
motion remains in motion in a straight line at constant speed unless
acted upon by unbalanced forces is the principle behind the seat belt
law. Also, I have learned that the greater the force applied on one
object, the faster it travels at the direction of the force.