Question

Suppose that a skydiver wears a specially lubricated suit that reduces air resistance to a small constant force that does not increase as the diver's velocity increases. In this situation which of the following statements is correct?

a. the diver's terminal velocity will remain the same as any other skydiver.
b. the diver's terminal velocity will be less than any other skydiver.
c. the diver's terminal velocity will be more than any other skydiver.
d. the diver will no longer experience a terminal velocity.

Answer 1

The diver's terminal velocity will be more than any other skydiver because the specially lubricated suit reduces air resistance to a small constant force, thus increasing the maximum speed before air resistance equals the diver's weight.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a skydiver wears a specially lubricated suit that reduces air resistance to a small constant force, the correct statement about the diver's terminal velocity is that it will be more than any other skydiver. This is because the air resistance, which limits the maximum speed of the skydiver, does not increase with velocity as it typically would. Since the diver's weight (force due to gravity) hasn't changed but the drag force is less and constant, the terminal velocity will be reached at a higher speed compared to a typical skydiver with a non-lubricated suit, where drag increases with the square of the velocity.

In a typical situation, skydivers reach a terminal velocity when the air drag, which increases with the square of the velocity, equals their weight. A lubricated suit that reduces air resistance to a small constant force means that the terminal velocity equation changes, allowing for a higher terminal velocity since the drag force is not balancing the gravitational pull at the lower speeds that it normally would.