We consider the operation of the hypothetical mechanical vehicle driven by an engine powered by small rockets introduced by P D Hanstead in the inaugural volume of this journal. Hanstead arrived at three contradictory conclusions regarding the change in velocity should some of the rockets malfunction at a particular time. This thought experiment…

A spreadsheet plotting assignment of real-life data from a racecar is employed to help students master the relationships among speed, acceleration, and distance. The racecar application will capture the imagination and interest of the student. The data is obtained by reading speedometer values from a YouTube video for 40 s as a racecar accelerates…

When the road is wet (there is a water layer on the road surface), the road marks become blurred and drivers are distracted. We discuss the contributing processes and identify which processes are dominant to the occurrence of this phenomenon. Modelling and a simple experiment demonstrate that the dominant processes are: (a) refraction of light by…

This study demonstrated that the constant average speed of a dynamic car could be measured and calculated using the smartphone magnetometer. The apparatus setup was built using a dynamic car, a linear track up to 1.50 m, a bunch of magnets, and a smartphone magnetometer application. The smartphone magnetometer application, 'Physics Toolbox Suite',…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the Doppler effect can be analysed to deduce information about a moving source of sound waves. Specifically, we find the speed of a car and the distance of its closest approach to an observer using sound recordings from smartphones. A key focus of this paper is how this can be achieved in a…

Problems of optimization in natural science, technology, economics, and management are of great interest. Students also usually find them intriguing. However, the selection of such problems in introductory undegraduate physics textbooks is very limited and should be broadened. To that end, a model of traffic flow optimization, simple enough for…

The technique of bump drafting, also known as two-car drafting in motorsports, is analysed in the framework of Newtonian mechanics and simple aerodynamic drag forces. As an apparent unnatural effect that often pleases the enthusiasts of car racing, bump drafting provides a unique pedagogical opportunity for students to gain insights into the…

This paper outlines an innovative education project that, by using a cutting-edge racing car physics simulation, will help create the next generation of engineers. The article gives an overview of this genre of games to give a background to the non-games expert. It also identifies key educational methodologies that have helped to form the goals of…

In this article we present the fascinating reconstruction of an accident where a car hit a boy riding his bicycle. The boy dramatically flew several metres through the air after the collision and was injured, but made a swift and complete recovery from the accident with no long-term after-effects. Students are challenged to determine the speed of…