Pumpkin Drop Rules

On October 29 from 12:30 to 1:30, the Society of Physics students will drop pumpkins from the top of BAL (10 stories up or about 100 feet). Build a device to catch a pumpkin without damaging it. Answer some questions explaining the physics of the drop and the catcher. One to two points extra credit (depending on the quality of the pumpkin catcher and how well you answer the questions). Teams of up to four can participate.

Physics 101 Pumpkin Drop Rules:

  1. Register your team entry with me (in person or by email) and with the Society of Physics Students (at odupumpkindrop@yahoo.com) .
  2. Your pumpkin catcher should be 3 feet by 3 feet in size or larger so that the pumpkin droppers can hit it from 10 stories up.  (2.5 feet square is probably OK but anything smaller will probably not be hit.)
  3. Bring 3 pumpkins (each about 8 to 10 pounds) to the Society of Physics Students office by October 25.  Note that we cannot guarantee that your pumpkins will be dropped on your catcher.
  4. Your pumpkin catcher needs to be able to be quickly (1 to 2 minutes) moved into position and quickly removed afterwards.
  5. Your team can consist of up to 4 people.
  6. No styrofoam peanuts.  They are too hard to clean up.
  7. Bring your pumpkin catcher to the lawn on the South side of BAL by 12:00 noon on Tuesday, Oct 29.
  8. You will get 1 extra credit point for building a pumpkin catcher (assuming a reasonable effort), 0.5 points for successfully catching a pumpkin without damaging it, and 0.5 points for answering the associated problems (see below).
Pumpkin Problems:
  1. What is the force of gravity (in N) on your 9 pound pumpkin?
  2. What is its potential energy at the top of BAL (in J)?
  3. What is its kinetic energy when it hits your pumpkin catcher (in J)?
  4. How much work does your pumpkin catcher have to do to stop it (in J)?
  5. How tall is your pumpkin catcher (its height from bottom to top in m)?
  6. How much force does your pumpkin catcher exert on the pumpkin (assuming that it uses the entire height of your pumpkin catcher to decelerate the pumpkin)?  Give your answer in Newtons and in pounds.
Hints:  In the past, people have used empty milk jugs, water balloons, straw, etc.  Successful pumpkin catchers have ranged in height from 2 to 6 feet tall.

Pumpkin Sillyness: To see how to accelerate (rather than decelerate a pumpkin), take a look at http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Midwest/10/21/offbeat.pumpkin.cannon.ap/index.html


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Last modified: Fri Oct 11 16:15:36 EDT 2002