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Tarzan's Dilemma A Challenging Problem For Introductory Physics Students
Tarzan's Dilemma A Challenging Problem For Introductory Physics Students
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Tarzans Dilemma: A Challenging
Problem for Introductory Physics
Students
Matthew Rave and Marcus Sayers, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
T
he following kinematics problem was given to several we want to know whether Tarzan falls into the ravine or not.
students as a project in conjunction with a first- Friction and air resistance will be ignored.
semester calculus-based physics course. The students Note that these assumptions were not trivial for the stu-
were asked to keep a journal of all their work and were dents to make. (One student initially suggested that the range
encouraged to keep even their scrap paper. The goal of the should depend upon the width of the ravine.) Until a student
project was to expose the students to the process of doing has gained theoretical experience, much guidance and direc-
theoretical physics, by tackling a project that is easy to pose tion may be required. As for identifying what sort of problem
conceptually yet surprisingly challenging in its solution. this is, our students immediately recognized the importance
Suppose Tarzan is running towards a vine that hangs of the basic kinematic equations. One said, Oh! This is a
vertically from a tree. His goal is to swing across a ravine. At Chapter 4 problem. On further reflection the students also
what point in his swing should Tarzan let go to maximize his saw how conservation of energy would prove useful in ana-
chances of clearing the ravine (see Fig. 1)? lyzing the swing on the vine.
It is useful for students to first consider simpler problems,
and gradually add complexity. First, revisit the range of a pro-
jectile on a flat surface. For such a projectile with initial speed
L v0 and initial angle above the horizontal, most texts derive
L the result
(1)
v0
v
m where R is the horizontal range and we take g = +9.8 m/s2.
h (See, for example, Chapter 4 of Serway.1) Having students
R
work through the derivation is not just useful practice; the
result [Eq. (1)] will be used as a building block in the final
Fig. 1. Tarzans dilemma. solution to the entire Tarzan problem.
We call this a dilemma because there are two competing Next consider the range of a projectile (again with initial
factors. On the one hand, the sooner Tarzan lets go, the more speed v0 and initial angle ) that is launched from the edge of
velocity he will have. On the other hand, the later he holds on, a cliff of height H above the ground. This is a two-dimension-
the further across the ravine he will have swung and the larger al kinematics problem; application of the expression
initial launch angle he will have after letting go. The question yields
is, what release angle maximizes his horizontal range?
Physical intuition is of limited use unless one can go down (2)
to the local pond and swing on a tire swing. Our students
first guess was simply a release angle of 45o, since that is the which is quadratic in t. Choosing the positive root, we get
optimal angle for launch of a horizontal projectile on a level
surface. But this was only a guess. (3)
A few assumptions are needed in order to proceed. Assume
a massless vine that stays taut at all times; the vine is length L and so the horizontal range of such a projectile is given by
and its bottom is initially at a height h above the ground. As-
sume Tarzan is a point mass m and that he grabs the vine at
its bottom. (This corresponds to the assumption that Tarzans
center of mass is level with the bottom of the vine, regard- 0 (4)
less of where he actually holds the vine.) Assume an initial
speed of v in the horizontal direction. We want to maximize
horizontal distance until impact, as measured from the initial It is useful to show that in the limit H 0, Eq. (4) reduces to
position of the mass on the vine, not from the point of release. Eq. (1).
It follows that the width of the ravine itself is irrelevant, unless This intermediate result [(Eq. (4)] exhibits some interest-
456 The Physics Teacher Vol. 51, November 2013 DOI: 10.1119/1.4824934
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the article. Reuse of AAPT content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
140.148.84.71 On: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 17:05:02
ing (and surprising) physics, and it is instructive to pause at
this point in the project to let students reflect on what they
have discovered. For example, our students were surprised to (7)
find that the optimal angle for maximum range (found by ,
setting dR/d = 0) decreases with increasing height H. (For
extremely high cliffs, one should throw an object horizontally
for maximum effect.) Here symbolic algebra programs (such where we note that H = h + y0 = h + L L cos . This range as
as Maple or Mathematica) can be of great value to students a function of release angle should be graphed by the student
in visualizing the complexities of Eq. (4) and in investigating as in Fig. 3, with plausible values for v, h, and L. It is then easy
various limits. However, such software is not required; our to estimate at which angle the maximum range will occur.
students were able to obtain interesting graphs using nothing For greater accuracy, of course, one may set dR1/d = 0 and
but Excel. solve for , although in this case numerical help will probably
be required.
A. Tarzans dilemma: solution
11
We are now in a position to tackle Tarzans dilemma di-
rectly. Since we do not yet know the speed v0 with which 10
R1 (m)
straight down (when Tarzan initially grabs the vine), and (2) 7
L cos 3
L (2) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
v0 (degrees)
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