Question

Three skydivers of different masses jump from a plane. One of them jumps on his own. The other two jump together. You may treat the two who jump together as one large person. In three to five sentences, explain how their falls compare, including the effects of gravity, mass, and air resistance.



(3 points)

Answer 1

When the three skydivers jump from the plane, they are all subjected to the same gravitational acceleration (approximately 9.81 m/s²) regardless of their mass. However, the skydiver who jumps alone will experience air resistance proportional to their surface area and velocity. The two skydivers jumping together, treated as one larger person, will also experience air resistance, but since they have greater mass and potentially a larger surface area, their terminal velocity may differ from the solo jumper. Ultimately, while all three will fall under the influence of gravity, the interaction of air resistance will affect their descent rates, leading to different terminal velocities depending on their respective sizes and shapes.