Simran Sidhu 

Quadratic Equation & Relations with Pole Vaulting

Mrs. Lipscei
MPM2D8
Period 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgG4tLNPGoo - Video to watch for better understanding

What is it:
Pole vaulting is a sport in the track and field category. The vaulter uses a bendable,
flexible and long pole to help them jump over a bar. It is played in the Olympic Games. 

How it was created and why:

This sport was created since in the olden days, there were many obstacles to pass so
people had different ways to overcome these obstacles. When obstacles are said, it means real
obstacles, like trees, logs, animals, etc. 

How is it played:
Each vaulter has a pole, its height depends on how tall the vaulter is, however the average
height of a pole is about 4m tall. The vaulter from a point runs 40m to the starting point which is
about 3m away from the bar, puts their pole to the ground, then uses the pole to help fling
themselves over the bar. 
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Connection:
In pole vaulting, the person doing the sport is creating a parabola with themselves.
Parabolas are commonly seen in nature, and this example shows a great example of one
in action. 

Information we already know based on research:

 Runway for 40m
 The distance from the pole to the starting point is 3m apart
 The height of the pole is about 4m tall
 The height of the bar is around 5.5m tall
 The time depends on how long the vaulter decides to run for to create enough energy to
be able to jump over the bar
 The speed of an average vaulter should be 7.5 m/s

What we need to find:

 The quadratic equation of the parabola representing the path of the vaulter
 Solving this problem requires, finding the equation to find the landing point
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Aim:
The aim of this project is to involve mathematical concepts into pole vaulting using
quadratic equations. By doing this, we can understand and analyze the path of a vaulter going
over a bar. It was important to me to demonstrate the application of quadratic equations to real-
life situations by choosing this topic. 

Summary:
This project’s main focus is finding the quadratic equation and determining the possible
landing point. The maximum height is already given by a person who vaulted the highest before.
This is what would be shown in the graph and plan. The main purpose is to determine the
equation of the parabolic path and use that information to find the landing point. A mathematical
plan is created using mathematical terminology, the plan is executed with mathematical
calculations, the validity of the model is checked, and the project is reflected on. 

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Strategy & Mathematical Work:

 This is the graph that was drawn by me representing the parabolic path of the vaulter. To
explain what is happening, the graph is looking at the records of the person who jumped the
highest in the world. Our starting point starts at (0, 0), this is where the vaulter would run to
before placing the pole to the ground. The starting point is about 3m away from the bar. Our blue
line represents the bar at about 5.5m. Since, the highest a person has vaulted is 6.22m and the bar
is 3m away from the origin, our maximum height is (3, 6.22), also known as the vertex. For our
landing point, we are aware that the person lands at the ground which would make our “y” value
equal to 0. We need to find the “x” value to determine the landing point. To do this our first step
is to create a quadratic equation.

Step #1: We can use vertex form since we already know the vertex. Vertex form is: 
y = a(x-h) + k, 
2
and adding our vertex into it, our equation is: 
y = a(x-3) + 6.22
2

Step #2: We substitute values for “y” and “x”, to find the value of “a”, that we are aware of. We
know the starting point is (0,0). So now our equation is,
0 = a(0-3) + 6.22
2

Step #3: After this, my work is shown, that gives our value of  “a”, -0.69

Step #4: In step 4, we are putting the entire equation together. Our values of (0, 0) was just there
to give our “a” value, it would not be used in our real equation since the values of “y” and “x”
change. Therefore, our equation is:
y = -0.69(x - 3) + 6.22
2

Since our vertex is (3, 6.22), we know that the transformation in the graph would be right 3,
down 6.22. 
After this, I used Desmos to accurately graph my equation without any error. 

As we can tell, our points are accurately given, however we can make sure the equation works by
checking the landing point. 

To check this, we already know our “y” is 0. So we need to find our x-intercepts or also known
as our zeros. We know that one of our zeros is 0. 

0 = -0.69(x - 3) + 6.222

To easily solve this, we can use our quadratic formula. So firstly, make the vertex form into
standard form. 
y = -0.69(x - 3) + 6.22 2

y = -0.69(x - 6x + 9) + 6.22
2

y = -0.69x + 4.14x - 6.21 + 6.22

2

y = -0.69x + 4.14x + 1 
2

In this, our values of a, b and c are:

a = -0.69
b = 4.14
c=1

So now, we can use our quadratic formula:

x = [-b ± √(b - 4ac)]/[2a]
2

x = [-4.14 ± √(4.14 - 4(-0.69)(1))]/[2(-0.69)]

2

x = [-4.14 ± √(17.1396 - 2.76)]/[-1.38]

x = [-4.14 ± √(14.3796)]/[-1.38]
x = [-4.14 ± 3.792]/[-1.38]

Now, we can divide this into two parts, one addition, the other would be subtraction.
 Addition,
x = [-4.14 + 3.792]/[-1.38]
x = [-0.348]/[1.38]
x=0

Subtraction,
x = [-4.14 - 3.792]/[-1.38]
x = [-7.932]/[-1.38]
x = 5.75

We already know one of our zeros is 0m, so our landing point zeros is 5.75m, which we can
round it to 6m. When we recheck our graph created on desmos: 

,
we can tell it is near x = 6. 

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Validity: 
A pole vaulter wants to know how high they are when they are 2m away from the strating
point and a metre to the bar. Using the equation given you would help the pole vaulter figure it
out. 

y = -0.69(x - 3) + 6.22
2

y = -0.69(2 - 3) + 6.22
2

y = -0.69(-1) + 6.22
2

y = -0.69 + 6.22
y = 5.53

Now, when we check our graph, 

 ,
we can tell that the point is accurate.
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Conclusion:
In this project, we modelled the parabolic path of a pole vaulter. We used mathematical
concepts learned during this course, we were able to graph and find the quadratic equation of a
real-life example. Using our knowledge of quadratic equations, we accurately found the equation
and reused for recheck. We were successful in doing all this, however, there can be some
improvements in places where we could have went above and beyond, to show more of our
knowledge and understanding of trigonometry also. We can always improve and put more out
there. However, this shows most of what we learned during this semester, specifically at the
start. Throughout this project, mathematical models show how real-world phenomena can be
understood and analyzed.
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Discussion:

Field or area of study:

In this project, the field or area of study used is a type of algebra. Quadratic equations is
extended algebra from the basics we learn. I learned a lot this past semester and this is definitely
one of the most fun topics I had fun in. It is easy and fast. 

Reasons I chose this:

Pole vaulting seems like a very fun sport. When I was thinking about real-life parabolas, I
thought about pole vaulting. The vaulters create a parabola with themselves which is really
interesting. This shows a great example of a real-life parabola. 

Ignored Asepcts and Simplifying:

This example could have been used more complicatedly. I understand that everyone lands
at different speeds and different places. It is not confirmed that a person would land exactly at
6m. This is the difference between real-life examples and made up examples. In real-life
examples, not everything can be accurate. Some things are predicted and this is how I had to
work with pole vaulting. Pole vaulting depends a lot on the vaulter itself. The vaulter’s height,
speed, weight, everything matters. I had to ignore this and find the maximum height a person can
reach. Since this is a sport and everything is possible, it is possible that someone goes higher
than 6.22m. This made my product look less realistic. However, there was no way I could
overcome this, so I did more research. I had to ignore the fact that there could be other outcomes
as well. All of this made my model look less realistic, so for the future, I can work with more
vaulters and different outcomes to make it look more realistic. 

Technology:
I used Desmos to graph my equation. Everything else was done by me.  
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Extension Questions:

Things I learned about:

I gained a lot more knowledge about pole vaulting itself. It makes me want to try it, since
it looks like so much fun. I learned how to find the quadratic equation easily and put the concepts
I learned into real-life situations. I learned a lot more about how pole vaulting works and how
interesting it is to see how a person can create a parabola with themselves using only a pole. This
shows a lot more about how everything works and how we can add our matchematical concepts
learned into real-life circumstances.  

What I would do differently:

If I were to redo this report, I would not do pole vaulting and research about another
sport/topic. This was a really hard topic to research about because of uncommon this sport is. A
lot of people know about it but not a lot of people genuinely look into it. There is not much that
we can research especially since it is an open ended sport. So, it honestly depends on the vaulter
itself. It depends on them to see how high they can go and how they can reach different levels. It
depends on their weight, since if they are lightweight, they can easily be thrown, however, they
would not be as in control as someone who is more heavier. If I were to do this differently, I
would want to speak based on experience instead. So I would rather try it out and then put my
input in this.

Observed in other industries or parts of the world:

Since this is a world wide sport, it is already known around the world. Everyone enjoys
this sport, however, not everyone knows about it. They might have heard about it before but have
never tried it. It is already observed by other industries since there are many small companies
who allow children and adults to play. As stated, it is not just an Olympic sport, many other
people practice and play this for fun. Everything is somehow connected. There are mathematical
concepts in even the smallest parts. 
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Extension and more information:

Energy inputs into pole vaulting causes different outcomes. If the vaulter is too far, there
is a high chance that the vaulter will not make it past the bar and will most likely fall before
reaching the bar. If the vaulter is too close to the bar, they could end up injuring themselves
because a lot of energy can be used at the wrong moment. 

Imagine the bar was closer to the start of the parabola, this way the person can not reach
the highest point since they will already go past the bar. If they are too close, it is also possible
that they injure themselves with the bar. They can hit their leg or head against the bar. This is
why most people recommend vaulters to be at a specific distance from the bar. 

In pole vaulting, the vaulter is not allowed to touch the bar. So it is recommended to
place the pole about 3m away from the pole. The pole bends easily, however, it gets straight fast
too, so there is a lot of core strength used. 

We can go deeper into this and figure out the speed of vaulters and more, however, that
would require more higher level mathematical concepts that we haven’t learned yet.  
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References: 
 Nice, K. (2023). How Pole Vaulting Works. HowStuffWorks.

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/pole-vault3.htm# 

 Stec, M. S. (Ed.). (2016, February 4). Reaching New Heights in Pole Vaulting: A

Multibody Analysis. Comsol. https://www.comsol.com/blogs/reaching-new-heights-in-

pole-vaulting-a-multibody-analysis/ 

 Allain, R. (2012, August 6). Olympic Physics: How Pole Vaulters Go Over the Top.

WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2012/08/olympics-physics-pole-vault/ 

 OlympicTalk. (2023, February 25). Mondo Duplantis breaks pole vault world record for

sixth time. OlympicTalk | NBC Sports.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2023/02/25/mondo-duplantis-pole-vault-world-record-

perche-indoor/ 

 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2023, May 6). Pole vault | athletics.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/sports/pole-vault