Briefly outline how a skydiver reaches terminal velocity.

This question is relating to the balancing of forces on a moving object.
The force on the skydiver will be equal to its weight multiplied by its acceleration (the acceleration will be equal to 9.8m/s/s - acceleration due to gravity). As they accelerate, there is a drag force due to air resistance which increases and the divers speed increases. The resultant of these two forces is the thing that allows the skydiver to continue to accelerate. The drag force will increase until it is equal to the force from the weight of the skydiver. When these two forces are equal, they will cancel out and there will be no acceleration i.e. the skydiver is moving at constant speed - terminal velocity.

WB
Answered by William B. Physics tutor

2399 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How does conduction work in metals?


Photons with 605 THz frequency strike metal of 1.2eV work function. Calculate the maximum energy of photoelectrons and their velocity. What amount of energy is necessary to stop all photoelectrons? (Planck's constant. electron mass and charge are given)


Why does lowering the control rods in a nuclear reactor reduce the amount of energy released each second from the nuclear fuel?


A car is travelling at 10m/s. It then accelerates at a constant rate.Find the time taken for the car to travel 1km if the car’s final velocity is then 22m/s .


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning