Question

After a skydiver deploys his parachute, his rate of speed decreases.

Answer 1

Answer:

As a skydiver falls, he accelerates downwards, gaining speed with each second. The increase in speed is accompanied by an increase in air resistance (as observed in the animation below). This force of air resistance counters the force of gravity. As the skydiver falls faster and faster, the amount of air resistance increases more and more until it approaches the magnitude of the force of gravity. Once the force of air resistance is as large as the force of gravity, a balance of forces is attained and the skydiver no longer accelerates. The skydiver is said to have reached a terminal velocity.