Question

A 824.4 kg skydiver jumps out of a plane. He falls 3,444.0 meters before releasing his parachute. How much work did gravity do on him before he uses his parachute?

a) 2.85 x 10^7 J
b) 2.86 x 10^7 J
c) 2.87 x 10^7 J
d) 2.88 x 10^7 J

Answer 1

To find the work done by gravity on the skydiver, multiply the skydiver's mass by the acceleration due to gravity and the height fallen. The calculated work is 2.81 x 10⁷ J, but this does not match the provided options, indicating a possible typo or simplified scenario not accounting for air resistance.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the work done by gravity on the skydiver before he uses his parachute, we use the formula W = m × g × h, where W is the work done, m is the mass of the skydiver, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s²), and h is the height fallen. Given that the mass of the skydiver is 824.4 kg and the height is 3,444.0 meters, the work done by gravity would be:

W = 824.4 kg × 9.8 m/s² × 3,444.0 m

W = 2.81 × 10⁷ J

However, this answer does not match any of the options given. There might be a typo in the question, or additional factors such as air resistance may need to be considered if this were a real-world scenario. Remember that in a vacuum, the work done would simply be the product of mass, gravity, and height as indicated above.