Question

A skydiver falls from an airplane to Earth. Answer the following questions about the skydiver's descent.

a) Describe what happens to the skydiver's speed the moment they jump out of the airplane.
b) As they continue to fall, more air resistance pushes on them. What happens to their speed?
c) When a skydiver reaches terminal speed, what is happening to their speed?
d) When a skydiver opens their parachute, what happens to their speed?
e) When a skydiver reaches terminal speed with a parachute, what happens to their speed?
f) What is the net force when the skydiver reaches terminal speed?

Answer 1

A skydiver's speed increases due to gravity when they jump out of an airplane, but air resistance leads to a terminal velocity where speed becomes constant. After opening a parachute, speed decreases until reaching a new lower terminal velocity. At any terminal velocity, the net force on the skydiver is zero.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a skydiver jumps out of an airplane, their speed initially increases due to acceleration caused by gravity. As they continue to fall, air resistance increases which slows down their acceleration. Eventually, they reach a terminal velocity where the force of gravity is balanced by the air resistance, and their speed remains constant.

When the skydiver opens their parachute, the increased surface area greatly increases air resistance and their speed decreases rapidly until a new, lower terminal velocity is reached at which point their speed stabilizes again.

At terminal speed, whether with or without a parachute, the net force on the skydiver is zero because the downward force of gravity is equal to the upward force of air resistance, resulting in no acceleration.