HOME Calculus Physics Answers Winners Archives
Physics Problem: Pumpkin Drop


Welcome to the 3rd physics question of PCPOW-2001!
Entries will be due by 6:00 pm PDT on Sunday, October 29th, 2000.
Good luck!


It's fall, the air is crisp and clean, the leaves are changing...what else do people do but jump on a trampoline?

Well, not little Pamela Kinsey. You see, Pamela had something else in mind for her trampoline. Sure, she could jump with the best of them, and when she stood on her trampoline, her 30 kg mass caused it to stretch 60 cm. But Pamela, in the spirit of the season, wanted to try something a little more exciting!

So she climbed onto her sundeck, which is 8 meters above her trampoline, and with her she brought the largest pumpkin she could throw - a whopping 12.4 kg pumpkin she grew in her garden. Pamela is pretty strong despite her petite stature, and she threw that pumpkin straight down at a speed of 5 m/s.

A) She wondered, as she let go, just how far the pumpkin would cause the trampoline to stretch.

B) Then she paused, as the pumpkin fell through the sky, and pondered how far above her head the pumpkin would rebound.

Happy Halloween!

PS - There's a little (very little) bonus surprise for the first person who can correctly name the song and artist for this question. Hint: the song is related to the theme of the season!
Submit your solution!