The pole vault is a track and field event in which athletes run down a track and
ID: 1698722 • Letter: T
Question
The pole vault is a track and field event in which athletes run down a track and, with the assistance of a flexible pole, attempt to clear a horizontal bar. The world record is 6.14m, set by Sergey Bubka in 1994.a) Using conservation of mechanical energy, estimate the maximum attainable height based on maximum sprint speed.
b) based on your result from part a), comment of Sergey's record setting height. Note: height of the pole is measured from the ground, while the motion of the pole voter is best described from a position called the center of mass, roughly at mid height.
c) explain the function of the pole considering energy ideas.
Explanation / Answer
A) It's a conservation of energy principal. Consider that kinetic energy = 1/2 mv2 and potential energy = mgh where m is the mass of your runner, v is their running velocity (sprint speed) and h is the change in height (0 being the ground, x being the final height cleared) and g is the gravity constant (9.8 m/s2).
That said, the maybe you have data you're supposed to be using, but since you've not provided me with a maximum sprint speed, I have pulled some data off the internet and found that 44.72 km/h is the fastest speed recorded for a human. This is roughly 12.4222 m/s.
(1/2)*(Mass of runner)*(12.4222m/s)=(Mass of runner)*(Change in height)*(9.8 m/s2)
As you see, mass cancels out and you end up with basic algebra to come up with the max height being .6337 meters. This is way different than the world record!
B) Sergey's height is much higher than the suggested maximum obtainable height. It seems impossible that this could happen, but that's where the pole comes in. Without the pole, Sergey's height WOULD be impossible to reach by just converting kinetic energy to potential energy.
C) The function of the pole is to multiply the resulting energy conversion. It's the machine in the example and multiplies the incoming energy so when it's converted to potential, the change in height is much more drastic.
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