Bungie-jumping Barbie
Lexi Gunville prepares to collect data in the classroom.
Cale Koski makes adjustments for the next drop.
Mira Johnson, Ella Gallup and Kylie Rugg adding rubber bands to the bungee cord.
Lexi Gunville prepares to collect data in the classroom.
Cale Koski makes adjustments for the next drop.
Mira Johnson, Ella Gallup and Kylie Rugg adding rubber bands to the bungee cord.
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The Kingsford Middle School eighth-grade students in Scott Kleiman's classroom modeled a bungee jump using a Barbie doll and rubber bands. The consideration of cord length is very important in a bungee jump -- too short and the jumper doesn't get much of a thrill, too long and ouch. The activity had the students collecting data on smaller jumps within the classroom. The data was then put into a scatter plot. A best-fitting line was drawn through the scatter plot. Using their line, students calculated a function that related the number of rubber bands to the distance that Barbie fell. Using this function, the students had to extrapolate -- do the math -- to find how many rubber bands were needed to give Barbie the most thrilling bungee jump from the top rail of the stairwell at KMS, which is 204 inches high.