A 65 kg man bungee-jumps off of a platform.

The bungee cord is 20 m long and has

a spring constant of
60 N/m. What is the greatest distance below the platform that he reaches after
leaping from the platform?
Student: The bungee cord acts like a spring, so the acceleration won't be constant
and we'll use conservation
of energy.
T\rtor: Good. First you need to pick "initial" and "final" positions.
Student: The start should be at the top, when he first jumps. The end is where he
reaches his lowest
point.
Thtor: If we want to know where his lowest point is, then it helps if that is one of the
points. What are
you going to use as height equals zero?
Student: I'm going to use the top, where he jumps from. That means that his
potential energy at the end
will be negative, but that's okay.
T\rtor: You mean the potential energy from gravity; there's also the spring involved.
What is the kinetic
energy at the start?
Student: He isn't moving yet, so it's zero.
T\rtor: What is his kinetic energy at the end?
Student: The lowest point is when he isn't moving, so that's also zero.