A skydiver, who weighs 650 N, is falling at a constant speed with his parachute open. Consider the apparatus that connects the parachute to the skydiver to be part of the parachute. The parachute pulls upward with a force of 620 N.

Consider the skydiver and parachute to be a single system. What are the external forces acting on this system? (Select all that apply.)

a)The upward directed drag force due to the air.
b)The upward force of the parachute on the skydiver.
c)The downward directed force due to gravity.
d)The downward force of the skydiver on the parachute.

You are going to have to show some thinking. It seems to me you are answer grazing.

im not, i just went through 2 attempts already and don't understand why i keep getting the answer i thought was right, wrong. With the parachute pulling upward, the external force that should be at work is the upward directed drag force due to the air...I'm visualizing that in order for the parachute to pull upwards, there's gotta be a lot of force pushing the air upwards as well

A skydiver deploys his parachute when he is 1050 directly above his desired landing spot. He then falls through the air at a steady 5.3 . There is a breeze blowing to the west at 1.0

To determine the external forces acting on the skydiver-parachute system, we need to consider the forces acting on the system from the surrounding environment, excluding any internal forces between the skydiver and parachute.

a) The upward directed drag force due to the air is an external force acting on the system. This force is opposing the motion of the skydiver and parachute and is necessary to maintain a constant speed during freefall.

b) The upward force of the parachute on the skydiver is an internal force because it is part of the system itself. We are looking for external forces, so this option is not correct.

c) The downward directed force due to gravity is an external force acting on the system. Gravity is always pulling objects downward, and in this case, it acts on the skydiver and parachute as a combined system.

d) The downward force of the skydiver on the parachute is an internal force because it is part of the system itself. We are looking for external forces, so this option is not correct.

Therefore, the correct external forces acting on the skydiver-parachute system are:

a) The upward directed drag force due to the air.
c) The downward directed force due to gravity.

So, the correct answer is a) and c).