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Students send classic doll Barbie bungee jumping
By Denise Dick
Canfield
She’s walked the red carpet, traveled the world and ventured into space. Now Barbie can add bungee jumping off of Mahoning County Career and Technical Center to her list of accomplishments.
Students in Jeff Eisenbraun’s Algebra 2 class gathered data to determine the number of rubber bands required to ensure the doll didn’t crash to the ground when dropped from the building’s roof. The goal was to get the doll or other object as close to the ground as possible.
“We started with the desk,” said Brayon Rhodes, 17, a junior from Campbell Memorial High School.
They increased the height of the drop, from classroom cabinets to a stairwell and finally from the top of the building, about 26 feet.
“It was kind of like a final exam — using what they’ve learned all year,” Eisenbraun said.
Students logged the information from each drop, noting the number of rubber bands, height of the drop, and used that data to predict the number of rubber bands needed to keep Barbie safe in the next one.
Brayon and his teammates did well with most of the drops. For the roof jump, they used about 60 rubber bands tied together. Barbie, though, didn’t fare well. Her head bounced off of the grass.
A few of the bands were removed, and a second jump proved successful.
Senior Lexxie Hall from Jackson-Milton High School and her team used a plastic-model jet instead of a doll for their drops.
They used too many rubber bands, and the jet bounced to a few feet off of the ground.
South Range junior Mark Stewart, 16, said it was a project involving data and formulas to determine the best strategy.
The team of Alphonso Davis, 16, and a junior from Campbell; junior Dylan Walters, 17, and senior Kris Chamberlain, 18, both from Jackson Milton; Mike Donofrio, 17, and Mike Mazzocco, 18, both juniors from Struthers; and Justin Ramsey, 16, a junior from South Range used a stapler for their drops.
They used between 32 and 33 rubber bands and count their work as successful.
“It nipped the grass,” Dylan explained.
Heavier objects require fewer rubber bands.
They say they enjoy such hands-on assignments.
“It makes you want to learn,” Dylan said.
“It makes it fun,” Justin added.