Perhaps the pogo stick was little Robert Hooke's favorite childhood toy, consisting of a stiff spring inserted in a tube fixed at the upper end and connected to a moveable rod at the other. Hand grips and a foot rest are connected to the tube. The idea is to jump on it taking advantage of the force provided by the spring when it is compressed. Figure 1 shows a schematic of a pogo stick.
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PASCO scientific, Roseville, CA, Part: 2-Axis Force Platform, Model PS-2142; www.pasco.com.
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© 2011 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2011
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