DANGER!ous Driving: Physics Public Service Announcements (PSA)
DUE: Monday 12/4
Last year in Georgia there were over 150 fatalities involving students under the age of twenty-one and most of those occurred in the metro-Atlanta area.While increased driver training and automobile safety features have reduced this number, youths still make up 37% of accidents in Georgia. For this project you will be creating public service announcements to be posted throughout the school to make students aware of dangerous driving situations around our school.
For this project you and up to two other students will choose a section of road that you commonly drive and analyze it for potential dangers. Some examples of dangerous situations include speeding along straightaways, distracted driving and reaction time, sharp turns at high speeds, stoplight reaction time, etc. You will then create a Public Service Announcement poster (or video) that clearly defines the dangers and explains them to students.
Your public service announcement must contain the following:
- A main header, theme or catchphrase to draw students’ attention
- Image of the section of road including measurements that are used in your analysis
- Citation of any researched information or material
- Relevant calculations or application of concepts from each of the following units:
- Kinematics (displacement, velocity, acceleration)
- Newton’s Laws
- Friction
- A statement briefly telling students the danger and how to reduce their chance of being in an accident in this specific scenario and WHY
- A suggestion to officials on how to reduce the risk (i.e. signs, speed bumps)
- Additional images related to the project
Your project will graded on three main components:
- Application of physics concepts(9 points) – how well did your group apply the laws, concepts and equations to your specific danger. This means the application of concepts, not just a statement of laws or definitions.
- Visual appeal of the PSA (8 points) – how appealing is your PSA, is it easy to read, colorful, informative without being overwhelming. If people don’t want to stop to look at it, then it is not doing its job.
- Connection between the physics concepts and risks (3 points) – how well do your calculations and concepts support your claim about the risk, how do they support your suggestions to students and officials.
Rubric:
2 points / 1 point / 0 pointsApplication of Physics Concepts (x1.5) / A concept from the unit is referenced and applied correctly to a measurement or idea from the PSA / A concept from the unit is referenced but not used or applied in connection to the PSA / Concept is not used in relation to any measurement or risk
Catchphrase or Header / A catchphrase or header is provided that is connected to the PSA or risk / A generic catchphrase or header is provided, but unrelated to the PSA or risk / No catchphrase or related header is provided
Map and Measurements of Road Section / A clear image is provided with measurements that are to scale / A small or hard to image is provided with minimal or no measurements (must be to scale) / No reasonable image or measurements of road is provided
Presentation of Information / PSA has ALL required information and presents it concisely and in an organized manner / PSA has ALL required information, however it is difficult to read, unorganized or overwhelming / PSA is lacking ANY required information
Effective Use of Images / Several images (>3) are incorporated into the PSA that aide in its appeal / A few (2 – 3) images are used and may or may not be related to the PSA / No additional images other than the road section are incorporated
Connection between physics concepts and risks (x1.5) / Physics concepts are directly related to the scenario including calculations from measurements and connection to laws. / Physics concepts are related to the scenario, but make general statements about the dangers of driving / No connection between stated risk and physics concepts from any unit