Question

When the skydiver descends to a certain height above the ground, she deploys her parachute to ensure a safe landing. Usually the parachute is deployed when the skydiver reaches an altitude of about 900 m (3000 ft). Immediately after deploying the parachute, does the skydiver have a nonzero acceleration?

Answer 1

Answer:

Yes

Explanation:

Yes, the skydiver cannot have zero acceleration as soon as the parachute is opened it takes some time to balance the rate of change in velocity with the drag force. This is in accordance with the Newton's second law of motion that the rate of change in momentum is directly proportional to the force applied.

As force is given as :

$F=\frac{d}{dt}(p)$

$F=m\times \frac{dv}{dt}$

$F=m.a$

here a=g

$F=m.g$

where:

$dp=$ change in momentum

$dt=$ time taken

$m=$ mass

$a=$ acceleration

$g=$ acceleration due to gravity

• So there will be a non zero acceleration because the force acting on the body does not becomes zero immediately.