Question

A skydiver jumps from an airplane and falls straight down. Due to air resistance, she quickly reaches terminal velocity so that she falls with a constant speed. Once this occurs, which of the following is true?

A. Her acceleration is increasing.

B. Her acceleration is zero.

C. The net force on her is zero.

D. Both A and C.

E. Both B and C.

Answer 1

Once a skydiver reaches terminal velocity, their acceleration becomes zero and the net force on them is also zero.

Step-by-step explanation:

Once a skydiver reaches terminal velocity, their acceleration becomes zero and the net force on them is also zero. The skydiver's acceleration is initially increasing as they fall because the force of gravity is greater than the force of air resistance. However, as the skydiver's speed increases, the force of air resistance also increases until it balances out the force of gravity. At this point, the skydiver's acceleration becomes zero and they fall with a constant speed.