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The high jump

Floor 4 Human body Test your body CellSkapt

This experiment is temporarily closed and will reopen before week 52.

How come some animals can jump so high? There are several reasons, for example the muscles used for jumping form a large part of a body’s weight. In addition, animals with long hind legs have an extra powerful lever effect. This gives them more initial velocity when they jump.

Animals that can jump high can also run fast. If you compare a human’s legs with those of a dog’s, you can see how the skeletons work differently. This means that in general, dogs can run faster and jump higher than humans.

Animals use elastic-like parts around their joints as they run and jump. When their feet touch the ground, the tendons and ligaments stretch just like an elastic band, storing potential energy. When the animal stamps its feet again, this potential energy converts into kinetic energy and together with the muscles contracting, the animal lifts up and is pushed forwards.