Question

What is true about the energy of the skydiver? Choose the best answer.

a picture of a skydiver.

The amount of kinetic and potential energy she possesses is changing as she falls to earth but the total mechanical energy remains the same.
She has the energy of falling.
She has kinetic energy because she is falling through the sky.
She has potential energy because she is above the earth.

Answer 1

Best answer: The first statement.

As she falls, gravitational potential energy decreases and kinetic energy increases. If air resistance is negligible, the loss of potential equals the gain in kinetic so the total mechanical energy stays the same. (If there is significant air resistance, some mechanical energy is converted to thermal energy and the total mechanical energy decreases.) The other choices are incomplete or vague.