Air Resistance

1. The drawing below shows a skydiver of weight 700 N.

a) What happens to the weight of the skydiver as she falls?

b) What is the value of the air resistance acting on the skydiver as she
steps out of the plane?
c) As the skydiver steps out of the plane she will fall and accelerate.
Explain, in terms of the forces acting on the skydiver, why she
accelerates.
d) What will happen to the value of the air resistance as she falls?
e) Explain why the skydiver will eventually stop accelerating.
f) What is the name given to this velocity?
g) Eventually the skydiver will open her parachute. What effect will this
have on the value of air resistance acting on her now?
h) What will happen to the velocity of the parachutist now?

2. The table of data below shows the motion of a human skydiver after
jumping out of an aeroplane.

Velocity 0 16 27 36 42 47 50 53 55 56 57
(m/s)
Time 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
(s)

a) Plot a graph of velocity in m/s (vertical axes) against time in s.

b) Find the terminal velocity of the skydiver.
c) Estimate the velocity of the skydiver after 5 s and 12.5 s
d) At what time does the skydiver reach terminal velocity?
e) The skydiver opens his parachute 20 s after stepping out of the plane.
Describe the extra force acting on him and the effect on his speed.
f) Will the skydiver reach a new terminal velocity? Explain your answer.

3. Answer true or false.

a) A feather and a hamster will not land at the same time if dropped from
the same height on the moon.
b) Acceleration equals force times mass.
c) The drag force depends on the shape and the area.
d) The forces of air resistance and weight are equal when a falling object
is travelling at its maximum speed (terminal velocity).
e) The speed at which weight equals air resistance is the same whether
a falling skydiver has a parachute open or not.