Newton's Laws of Motion: Understand active and passive safety in motorsports
Join a team of motorsport engineers and learn the basics of Newton’s laws of motion. Understand the basic principles of passive and active safety while driving a high-class race car.
- High School
- University / College





Labster is used by 1000s of amazing schools and universities
Learn moreAbout This Simulation
Enter the race car mechanics lab
Do you know why Labster’s race cars win so many motorsport championships? Because our drivers dare to reach the maximum potential of themselves and their cars. Motorsport drivers not only need all parts of their car to help them accelerate, but they also need to feel safe in doing so. In this simulation, we will use Newton’s laws of motion to break down the passive and active safety features of a race car to enable our drivers to move faster in the safest way possible.
Understanding inertia
Have you noticed that when driving a vehicle and using the brakes to stop, your body continues moving forward? In the first mission, you will use Newton’s first law of motion to understand why this happens, and the importance of optimizing a car’s features to prevent drivers from hurtling forward when suddenly braking at high speeds.
Newton’s second law of motion
In order to understand Newton’s second law of motion, observe the motion of boxes as a result of external forces. From this mission, you will understand how friction between the tires and the road impacts the acceleration of a race car.
Action and reaction forces
In most interactions, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. This is what Newton’s third law of motion describes. Check out examples of this law in motorsports and identify the action and reaction forces while driving.
Reference frames
Is the race car moving faster if you observe it from your seat at the stadium, from the TV, or if you are a passenger? Reference frames are used to explain how motion may be relative depending on your position as an observant. Do you have all the required knowledge to join the team of motorsport engineers?
Explore Newton's Laws of Motion: Understand active and passive safety in motorsports Virtual Lab Simulation
How do virtual labs work?
Engage students in science through interactive learning scenarios. Simulate experiments, train lab techniques, and teach theory through visual experiences that enhance long-term learning outcomes.
250+ Web-based simulations that can be played on laptops and tablets without installing any software
Teacher dashboard to automate grading and track student progress
Embedded quizzes to help students master science content
Library of learning resources, lab reports, videos, theory pages, graphics and more
Get started now!
You can explore and assign simulations to your students right away.
- Access to over 250 Labster simulations for free.
- Exclusive educator access to all of Labster Course Manager content.
- 30 days for free, no credit card needed.
- Invite your students to play simulations and get their feedback.



Integrate with your LMS
Labster integrates with all major LMS (Learning Management Systems) so that educators can use their gradebooks to track students’ performance data and students can keep a record of their work.








