A falling skydiver opens his parachute. A short time later, the weight of the skydiver-parachute system and the drag force exerted on the system are equal in magnitude. The following statements predicts the motion of the skydiver at this time
<u>The skydiver is moving downward with constant speed.</u>
Explanation:
Immediately on leaving the aircraft, the skydiver accelerates downwards due to the force of gravity. There is no air resistance acting in the upwards direction, and there is a resultant force acting downwards. The skydiver accelerates towards the ground.
The forces acting on a falling leaf are : gravity and air resistance.
The net force and the acceleration on the falling skydiver is upward.
An upward net force on a downward falling object would cause that object to slow down. The skydiver thus slows down.
As the speed decreases, the amount of air resistance also decreases until once more the skydiver reaches a terminal velocity.
<u>A skydiver falling at a constant speed opens his parachute. When the skydiver is falling, the forces are unbalanced.</u>
