Barbie Bungee Project

In this activity, you will simulate a bungee jump using a Barbie® doll and rubber bands. Accuracy is important—Barbie’s life could depend on it!

1.      Before you conduct the experiment, formulate a conjecture: I believe that _____ is the maximum number of rubber bands that will allow Barbie to safely jump from a height of 400 cm.

Now, conduct the experiment to test your conjecture.

Ë       Calculate the average jump distance for each row.

Ë       Calculate the slope by subtracting two consecutive jump distances by the change in the number of rubber bands.  We’ll do one in class if this sounds confusing! 

2.      What is the relationship between the number of rubber bands and jump distance?  To calculate this find the average slope (change in rate)   

3.      What should the y intercept be?  Explain your answer.

4.      Write an equation using your answers to questions 2 and 3. 

Part II:  Graphing:  Answer the following based on your graph. 

5.      What is the equation for your line of best fit from the Excel spreadsheet?

6. What is the slope of your equation, and what does it represent in this context?

7. What is the y-intercept of your equation, and what does it represent in this context?

8. Based on your data, what would you predict is the maximum number of rubber bands so that Barbie could still safely jump from 400 cm?

Using your Line of Best Fit Equation from Excel: ________________________________

Using your Equation from question 4: ____________________________

9. Are your predictions reliable? Justify your answer. Be sure to consider your methods of

collecting, recording, and plotting data.

10. How do your predictions from Question 8 compare to the conjecture you made before doing the

experiment? What prior knowledge did you have (or not have) that helped (or hindered) your

ability to make a good conjecture?

11. In what ways did you contribute to the group while working on this project?

12.  Write a detailed conclusion discussing the following points and anything else you would like to mention.  This will be worth at least 10 points of your grade so be thorough with your answer.

·        Slope

·        y-intercept  

·        real-life application of using slope/rate of change

·        real-life application of using line of best fit to make graphs

·        how equations can be used in real-life applications such as a bungee jumping company

·        how would a bungee jumping company use this type of information?  Would they have to modify it based on other factors? 

·        importance of repeating an experiment several times and using the average

·        anything you learned from excel that you did not know before

·        what you liked about the project and what you disliked about the project

·        any improvements you would make for next year

Project Guidelines and Grading

Ö         You will receive 5 bonus points for typing the project. 

Ö         You need to turn in your graph, data table, answers to the questions (you do not have to retype the question itself), and the conclusion.

Ö         DO NOT TURN IN THIS PAGE WITH THE ANSWERS HANDWRITTEN ON IT.  Either type or rewrite everything. 

Ö         You may have the same answers for questions 1-10 as your group BUT YOUR CONCLUSION MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS. 

Ö         You will be graded on:

o       The project is complete and turned in on-time

o       The project demonstrates an understanding of the mathematical concepts such as slope and y-intercept.

o       All group members work efficiently during the class period.

o       The data table is accurate. 

o       The graph includes a title, labels, line of best fit. 

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