Ideas found in the User Manual

• Analyze a crouched jump. Start with knees bent, hands on hips. Do NOT lower your body further; jump up only. Do not move your arms. This very artificial jump is easier to analyze than a natural jump.
  1. Use the impulse of the force to find the change in momentum; find the jumper’s velocity at take-off to estimate the jump height.
  2. Use the flight time and kinematics to find the jump height.
  3. From the force vs. time graph, determine an acceleration vs. time graph. Integrate to find velocity and position vs. time graphs. Construct a plot of force vs. position, and use that to determine the work done on the jumper’s center of mass by the floor. Since that work shows up as kinetic energy, use the energy to find the velocity at take-off.

• Analyze a natural jump. Repeat the crouched jump analysis for a natural jump, beginning with standing straight, crouching down, and then jumping. You will be able to jump higher this way, but the analysis will be more complex.
• Investigate “Unweighting.” Investigate the forces involved during the technique known as “unweighting” during ski or snowboard turns. Can you reduce your apparent weight?
• Analyzing forces during an Elevator Ride. Take the Force Plate on an elevator ride. Stand on the Force Plate, and record the force of the elevator floor on your feet as a function of time. Explain. Can you determine the speed of the elevator from the data?

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