Baffling Bungee

This week’s science challenge requires the principals of physics and chemistry to solve.

Diagram of Baffling Bungee Jump.

Bob the bungee jumper goes bungee jumping over water on a cord made out of C5H8. The thickness of the rope is 3 centimetres. It’s natural length, the length it will have if not acted on by a force, is 1 metre. Bob starts the jump with a velocity vector with a magnitude of 1 metre per second and an angle of 45°. The lowest point of the jump is 1 metre above the water. Afterwards, the cord pulls Bob up to a stable position higher above the water. The challenge is to calculate the elasticity of the rope to figure out exactly how high.

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