Question

A skydiver of mass mmm jumps from a hot air balloon and falls a distance ddd before reaching a terminal velocity of magnitude vvv. Assume that the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity is g.

Required:
Find the power Pd supplied by the drag force after the skydiver has reached terminal velocity v. (in same terms)

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

When the object falling attains terminal velocity , net force on it becomes zero. That means drag force becomes equal and opposite to its weight.

So drag force = mg

where m is mass of falling body and g is acceleration due to gravity .

The drag force is constant . It is doing work against the weight of falling body . Object is falling v m /s . That means drag force is doing work per second as follows

Work done per second = force x displacement per second

= mg x v

So

Power of drag force = mgv.

Pd = mgv.