Terminal Velocity

Question 1

what is terminal velocity?

Answer 1

velocity is constant. no more accelerating or decelerating

Question 2

What happens when someone falls and opens a parachute

Answer 2

• When someone first steps out of the airplane, they are stationary for a split second
• The weight will be the only force pulling them down. The resultant force will also be the same length and direction. This causes them to accelerate faster
• When they start falling, the air resistance acts against the weight. The air resistance happens because of the collisions between the person and the air particles. The more collisions, the more particles. This depends on the surface area and velocity. Since they have only started falling the velocity will be very low. This causes the resultant force to get shorter
• As the person keeps falling, the air resistance will increase and the weight will decrease but the weight is still greater
• At one point, the air resistance and weight will balance themselves out and this is called terminal velocity.
• If they open a parachute, the surface area will increase and the resultant force will go up. The air resistance will be greater than the weight. The person will slow down
• Eventually, the air resistance will slow down and the weight will catch up and it will reach terminal
• The terminal velocity will be lower than without the parachute