5- Skydiving and Parachutes

Question 1

what happens the exact moment a skydiver steps out of the plane?

Answer 1

as they step out of the plane, there is a force acting downwards on them because of the gravity called weight. because they have not started to fall there is no drag force to balance it so they start to accelerate.

Question 2

what is terminal velocity?

Answer 2

terminal velocity is when the drag force and weight are equal, and you move at a constant, steady speed

Question 3

what happens after the skydiver has been falling for a while?

Answer 3

eventually, the forces are opposite and equal, which puts the skydiver at a steady, constant speed, als known as terminal velocity.

Question 4

what happens after the skydiver opens the parachute?

Answer 4

the upward force / drag is larger than the skydivers weight, so they decelerate.

Question 5

what happens after the parachute has bern open for a while?

Answer 5

after a while the air resistance decreases until it equals weight, and a new terminal speed is reached.