Question
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 5 options:
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 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 shorter than the arrow down.
There is only an arrow down for gravity.
Question 5 options:
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 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 shorter than the arrow down.
There is only an arrow down for gravity.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
In the scenario where a skydiver has opened his parachute and is slowing down as he falls, the forces acting on the skydiver include gravity pulling him downwards and air resistance (or drag) acting upwards due to the parachute.
1. **Gravity**: This force acts downwards and is constant, pulling the skydiver towards the earth.
2. **Air Resistance**: This force acts upwards, opposing the downward motion. When the parachute is opened, the air resistance increases significantly, acting against gravity.
Since the skydiver is slowing down, it means that the upward force of air resistance is greater than the downward force of gravity at that moment. Therefore, the free-body diagram would show two arrows:
- An arrow pointing upwards (for air resistance) that is **longer** than the arrow pointing downwards (for gravity).
Based on the options provided, the correct answer 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.**
1. **Gravity**: This force acts downwards and is constant, pulling the skydiver towards the earth.
2. **Air Resistance**: This force acts upwards, opposing the downward motion. When the parachute is opened, the air resistance increases significantly, acting against gravity.
Since the skydiver is slowing down, it means that the upward force of air resistance is greater than the downward force of gravity at that moment. Therefore, the free-body diagram would show two arrows:
- An arrow pointing upwards (for air resistance) that is **longer** than the arrow pointing downwards (for gravity).
Based on the options provided, the correct answer 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.**