Jack-O-Splat

8th graders have 2 days for in-class work to devise a structure from a set of supplies that would protect a mini-pumpkin from structural damage when it was dropped from the top of the Chapel Bell Tower (visible at left). Construction in class on Friday, 10-31 and Monday, 11-3. The actual Jack-O-Splat will occur on Tuesday, 11-4-03 during normal class periods.

The project is a hand-on application for the Impulse-momentum equation:

Force * time = mass * change in velocity

Materials available:

	1 sheet single fold sheet of newspaper
	1 m duct tape
	2 m cotton string
	1 quart ziplock bag
	1 plastic cup
	1 paper towel tube (student provides by Friday,10-31)

The grades for “severely” damaged pumpkins (wide splits, guts spilled, major cracking) will range from 70 – 80%. “Moderately” damaged pumpkin grades will range from 80-85% based on the severity of their damage.
Pumpkins that have “slight” damage will earn grades between 85 and 95%.
Pumpkins that survive the fall “untouched” or do not show any cracks, dents, splits, or significant changes to the exterior of your miniature pumpkin will be guaranteed a minimum grade of 95%.
Grades higher than 80% for surviving pumpkins will have these 3 additional criteria applied to them by your instructor to determine the relative ranking within a damage category (moderate, slight, and no damage) and thus your final grade:

INNOVATION OF DESIGN & INGENIOUS USE OF MATERIALS
QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION
DECORATION QUALITY- ACHIEVING A CLEAR THEME.

Pumpkins are limited in the area that catches air above the surface of the gourd. The surface area of a drag chute or parachute in cm² (anything extending more than 4 cm above the pumpkin’s top) will be a maximum of 2.5x the mass in grams of your pumpkin. Streamers or parachutes count in the drag chute area calculations.

Example: a 200 gram pumpkin can have a parachute of (2.5*200) cm²
= 500 cm²of surface area. This would equal about a 22 cm x 22 cm area. The remaining newspaper material could be used for cushioning.