What should a free-body diagram look like for a skydiver who has opened his parachute and is now slowing down as he falls?

Question

Responses

There is an arrow up for air resistance and an arrow down for gravity. The arrow up is longer than the arrow down.

There is an arrow up for air resistance and an arrow down for gravity. The arrow up is longer than the arrow down.

There is an arrow up for air resistance and an arrow down for gravity. The arrows are the same length.

There is an arrow up for air resistance and an arrow down for gravity. The arrows are the same length.

There is only an arrow down for gravity.

There is only an arrow down for gravity.

There is an arrow up for air resistance and an arrow down for gravity. The arrow up is shorter than the arrow down.

Answer 1

For a skydiver who has opened his parachute and is slowing down while falling, the correct response regarding the free-body diagram would be:

There is an arrow up for air resistance and an arrow down for gravity. The arrow up is longer than the arrow down.

This indicates that the upward force of air resistance (caused by the parachute) is greater than the downward force of gravity, which is why the skydiver is slowing down.