A-LevelPhysicsWork, energy and power9702/12 · May/June 2019 · Q181 Mark
A bungee jumper jumps off a high bridge, when attached to it by a long elastic rope which obeys Hooke's law. The gravitational potential energy of the jumper is measured relative to the lowest point reached by the jumper. Which graph shows the variation of the gravitational potential energy of the jumper, and the elastic potential energy in the rope, with the vertical distance fallen from the top of the bridge?
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A[Graph A shows elastic potential energy (solid line) increasing quadratically from zero and gravitational potential energy (dashed line) decreasing linearly from a maximum]
B[Graph B shows elastic potential energy (solid line) decreasing quadratically from a maximum and gravitational potential energy (dashed line) decreasing linearly from a maximum]
C[Graph C shows elastic potential energy (solid line) decreasing quadratically from a maximum and gravitational potential energy (dashed line) increasing linearly from zero]
D[Graph D shows elastic potential energy (solid line) increasing linearly from zero and gravitational potential energy (dashed line) decreasing quadratically from a maximum]
✓ Correct answer
A: [Graph A shows elastic potential energy (solid line) increasing quadratically from zero and gravitational potential energy (dashed line) decreasing linearly from a maximum]
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