Barbie Bungee Jumping: Graphing and Extrapolating Data

Your Mission Team members have been hired to work for the Evil Knievel Entertainment Company. This company provides rock climbing, sky diving, extreme skateboarding and hang gliding adventures to the public. The current market research indicates that the company should add bungee jumping to its list of entertainment services. As part of the preliminary research, the management assigned teams the task of working out the details of the jump that will ensure a safe yet thrilling experience. The company has several sites planned for bungee jumping and each site is at a different height.

Purpose To ensure a safe and thrilling jump you will determine the relationship between the jump height and the number of rubber bands used to make the bungee cord. You must allow your Barbie to come as close to the floor as possible without sustaining any injuries or fatalities.

Materials Meter Stick Rubber Bands Barbie Doll Balance Computer Graphing Software

Procedure Use one rubber band to secure Barbie’s ankles together and to serve as a point of attachment for the bungee cord. Use a rubber band to tie back Barbie’s hair. Construct a bungee cord with 1 rubber band and attach it to Barbie’s ankles. Barbie will fall freely from a standing position, plunging head first throughout this lab. Measure the initial length of the 1 band bungee you constructed once it is attached to Barbie’s ankles.

Procedure Pt. II Test drop Barbie three times to practice taking readings. Drop Barbie three times and record the data each time. Add a rubber band to your attached bungee cord. Measure the new cord length. Repeat the steps until you have a total of 6 rubber bands. Record the data each time. You may have to devise a way to take measurements that are longer that 1.0meter.

Procedure Pt. III Calculate the average of the data and record it in the data table. Using graphing software (see labs page on website), construct a graph of drop distance vs. number of rubber bands. Run a linear regression on the data and write your regression equation in y=mx+b format in the space provided in the data table. Use the regression equation to predict how many rubber bands will be needed in order for Barbie to perform a safe, yet thrilling jump for a location specified by Haas(tomorrow).

Barbie Bungee Jumping Graphing and Extrapolating Data Name: Maximum Drop Distance Number of Rubber Bands Initial Length of Bungee (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mass of Barbie= Linear Regression Equation:

Conclusion Questions: What is the significance of the y-intercept in your regression equation? Use your regression equation to predict how many of your rubber bands would be needed to allow Barbie a successful, yet thrilling jump from a height of 100 feet. Show all calculations. Calculate the stretch coefficient for the trial that used 4 rubber bands by using the following formula: Stretch coefficient=amount of stretch/mass of Barbie Ken wants to jump and have some fun too. Barbie loans Ken her bungee cord, but warns Ken that this may not be a safe plan. Why may it be a bad idea for Ken to use Barbie’s bungee cord? A student measured the mass of Barbie before attaching the first rubber band that secures Barbie’s ankles to the bungee cord. How will this error affect the calculated value of the stretch factor? Data, Excel Spreadsheet, and Conclusion Questions