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Excerpt
hiddentrue

Bungee jumps involve elastic and gravitational potential energy.

Image Added

(Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons, uploaded by user Che010.)

Bungee cords designed to

...

U.S.

...

Military

...

specifications

...

(DoD

...

standard

...

MIL-C-5651D,

...

available

...

at

...

http://dodssp.daps.dla.mil

...

)

...

are

...

characterized

...

by

...

a

...

force

...

constant

...

times

...

unstretched

...

length

...

in

...

the

...

range

...

kL

...

~

...

800-1500

...

N.

...

Jumpers

...

using

...

these

...

cords

...

intertwine

...

three

...

to

...

five

...

cords

...

to

...

make

...

a

...

thick

...

rope

...

that

...

is

...

strong

...

enough

...

to

...

withstand

...

the

...

forces

...

of

...

the

...

jump.

...

Suppose

...

that

...

you

...

are

...

designing

...

a

...

bungee

...

jump

...

off

...

of

...

a

...

bridge

...

that

...

is

...

50.0

...

m

...

above

...

the

...

surface

...

of

...

a

...

river

...

running

...

below.

...

You

...

have

...

read

...

that

...

you

...

should

...

expect

...

the

...

cord

...

to

...

stretch

...

(at

...

peak

...

extension)

...

to

...

about

...

210%

...

of

...

its

...

natural

...

length.

...

You

...

have

...

also

...

read

...

that

...

you

...

should

...

use

...

3

...

cords

...

together

...

for

...

jumpers

...

with

...

weights

...

in

...

the

...

range

...

100-150

...

lbs,

...

4

...

cords

...

for

...

150-200

...

lbs,

...

and

...

5

...

cords

...

for

...

200-250

...

lbs.

...

Suppose

...

you

...

decide

...

to

...

use

...

cords

...

of

...

length

...

20

...

m,

...

which

...

would

...

seem

...

to

...

offer

...

a

...

safety

...

zone

...

of

...

about

...

8

...

m

...

(or

...

really

...

about

...

6

...

m

...

if

...

the

...

cord

...

is

...

attached

...

at

...

the

...

ankles).

...

Deck of Cards
idpartdeck

Card
labelPart A

Part A

Find the expected maximum length of the cords for a 200 lb person jumping with 4 cords, so that kL = (4)(800

...

N)

...

=

...

3200

...

N.

...

Since

...

you

...

are

...

evaluating

...

the

...

safety

...

factor,

...

ignore

...

any

...

losses

...

due

...

to

...

air

...

resistance

...

or

...

dissipation

...

in

...

the

...

cord.

...

Ignore

...

the

...

mass

...

of

...

the

...

rope.

Solution

Toggle Cloak
idsysA
System:
Cloak
idsysA

The jumper (treated as a point particle) plus the earth (treated as an object of infinite mass) and the bungee cord and the bridge (also treated as an object of infinite mass).
Cloak
sysA
sysA

Toggle Cloak
idintA
Interactions:
Cloak
idintA

The system constituents interact via gravity, which contributes gravitational potential energy and via the elastic restoring force of the cord which contributes elastic potential energy. External influences are assumed negligible.
Cloak
intA
intA

Toggle Cloak
idmodA
Model:
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idmodA

Mechanical Energy, External Work, and Internal Non-Conservative Work.
Cloak
modA
modA

Toggle Cloak
idappA
Approach:

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idappA

We begin with an initial-state final-state diagram and the corresponding energy bar diagrams:

Image Added

Image Added

Initial State

Final State

As indicated in the picture, we have chosen the zero point of the height to be the river's surface. With these pictures in mind, we can set up the Law of Change for our model:

Latex


System:  The jumper (treated as a [point particle]) plus the earth and the bungee cord.  The system constituents interact via gravity, which contributes [gravitational potential energy], and via the restoring force of the cord, which contributes [elastic potential energy].  External influences are assumed negligible.

Model:  [Constant Mechanical Energy].

Approach:  

PICTURE

Shown above is an initial-state final-state diagram for this situation, along with corresponding energy bar graphs.  As indicated in the picture, we have chosen the zero point of the height to be the river's surface.  With these pictures in mind, we can set up the Law of Change for our model:

{latex}\begin{large} \[ E_{\rm i} = mgh_{\rm i} = E_{\rm f} = mgh_{\rm f} + \frac{1}{2}k x_{f}^{2} \] \end{large}{latex}

{info}Bungee cords provide a restoring force when stretched, but offer no resistance when 
Note

Bungee cords provide an elastic restoring force when stretched, but offer no resistance when "compressed",

since

they

fold

like

an

ordinary

rope.

Thus,

the

initial

spring

energy

is

zero

in

this

case.

{info}

It

...

seems

...

that

...

we

...

have

...

a

...

problem

...

here,

...

because

...

we

...

do

...

not

...

know

...

h

...

f or

...

x

...

f.

...

The

...

easiest

...

way

...

to

...

deal

...

with

...

this

...

problem

...

is

...

to

...

utilize

...

our

...

freedom

...

to

...

choose

...

the

...

zero

...

point

...

of

...

the

...

height

...

axis.

...

If

...

we

...

restructure

...

our

...

coordinate

...

system

...

to

...

place

...

h

...

=

...

0

...

m

...

at

...

the

...

point

...

where

...

the

...

cord

...

is

...

stretched

...

to

...

its

...

natural

...

length

...

L

...

(as

...

shown below).

Image Added

Image Added

Initial State

Final State

This redefinition of the origin of the height in our coordinate system greatly simplifies the equation describing the evolution of the jumper's mechanical energy:

Latex
 below) then we can rewrite our equation:

NEW PIC

{latex}\begin{large} \[ mgL = - mgx_{f} + \frac{1}{2} k x_{f}^{2} \] \end{large}{latex}

{info}You can also solve using the initial coordinate system.  You would simply have to substitute _h_~f~ = 50 m - _L_ - _x_.  After cancelling _mg_(50 m) from each side, you recover the same expression.{info}

We now have a quadratic, which is solved to obtain:

{latex}
Note

You can also solve using the initial coordinate system. You would simply have to substitute hf = 50 m - L - x. After cancelling mg(50 m) from each side, you recover the same expression.

The discussion around the diagrammatic representation has left us with a quadratic equation in xf, which is solved to obtain:

Latex
\begin{large} \[ x_{f} = \frac{mg \pm \sqrt{(mg)^{2} + 2 k mg L}}{k} \]\end{large}{latex}

It

...

is

...

not

...

sensible

...

that

...

we

...

should

...

find

...

a

...

negative

...

value

...

for

...

x

...

f,

...

so

...

we

...

must

...

select

...

the

...

plus

...

sign,

...

giving:

{
Latex
}\begin{large} \[ x_{f} = \frac{mg}{k}\left(1+\sqrt{1+\frac{2kL}{mg}}\right) = 21.5\:{\rm m} \] \end{large}{latex}

{tip}Does this bear out the original estimate that the cord should stretch to 210% of its initial length?{tip}

{tip}Can you convince yourself by looking at the form of the symbolic answer that a 150 lb person attached to 3 cords and a 250 lb person attached to 5 cords would have the same _x_~f~ as the 200 lb person on 4 cords?{tip}

h3. Part B

Based on your analysis from Part A, what would be the peak force acting on a 200 lb person making the jump attached to 4 cords?








Tip

Does this bear out the original estimate that the cord should stretch to 210% of its initial length?

Tip

Can you convince yourself by looking at the form of the symbolic answer that a 150 lb person attached to 3 cords and a 250 lb person attached to 5 cords would have the same xf as the 200 lb person on 4 cords?

Cloak
appA
appA

Card
Part A
Part A

Card
labelPart B

Part B

Based on your analysis from Part A, what would be the peak force acting on a 200 lb person making the jump attached to 4 cords?

Card
Part B
Part B

Deck of Cards
partdeck
partdeck