Describe and explain the motion of a skydiver from leaving the aircraft to reaching terminal velocity

Initially, there is only one force acting on the skydiver, which is their weight. F=ma therefore mg=ma. The m's cancel and the skydiver falls with acceleration g. However as soon as they have a downwards velocity, drag acts upwards to oppose this motion. As the velocity increases, the drag increases and therefore the force acting downwards on the skydiver decreases. This continues until the drag force is equal to the weight of the skydiver. At this point there is no net force on the skydiver and since F=ma, this means that there is no acceleration and the skydiver is in freefall and has reached their terminal velocity

OF
Answered by Ollie F. Physics tutor

5445 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Explain how the photoelectric effect gives evidence for the photon theory of light.


What is Newton's Third Law and what is an example of it?


Why does an absorption spectrum (of eg Helium) show dark lines?


2 resistors of resistances 150 ohms and 5000 ohms respectively are in series with each other. They both are also in parallel with a 1000 ohm resistor. What is the total resistance?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences