Question

At the beginning of her fall does the skydiver have an acceleration? View Available Hints) a) No, the skydiverfalls at a constant speed b) Yes and her acceleration is directed upward c) Yes and her acceleration is directed downward

Answer 1

Yes, and the acceleration is directed downward.

Step-by-step explanation:

An object accelerates whenever the forces on it are not balanced. The acceleration would be in the same direction as that of the net force (resultant force).

In this question, forces on the skydiver might include:

• Gravitational attraction from the Earth, which points downwards, and
• Drag from the air, which points opposite to the direction of motion.

If the skydiver started with no or a low velocity, drag would be negligible. Forces on the skydiver would not be balanced. Therefore, acceleration would be non-zero.

If drag is negligible, the resultant force would point downward- in the same direction as the gravitational attraction from the Earth (the only force on the skydiver). Acceleration of the skydiver would also point downwards.