A skydiver weighs 166 lb. When the skydiver reaches terminal speed, how much air drag does the skydiver experience?
What is mg?
A skydiver reaches a "terminal velocity" of 160 km/h. If the skydiver has a mass of 59.0 kg, what is the magnitude of the upward force on the skydiver due to wind resistance?
To calculate the air drag experienced by the skydiver, we will need to know the speed at which the skydiver reaches terminal velocity.
Terminal velocity is the maximum constant speed a falling object can reach when the force of gravity pulling the object down is balanced by the force of air resistance pushing against it. At terminal velocity, the net force acting on the skydiver is zero.
Since we don't have the speed of the skydiver at terminal velocity, we can estimate it using average values. The terminal velocity of a typical skydiver in a belly-to-earth position is around 120 mph (193 km/h) or 53.6 m/s.
The air drag experienced by the skydiver can be calculated using the formula:
Drag Force = 0.5 * coefficient of drag * density of air * velocity^2 * surface area
The coefficient of drag and the surface area of the skydiver will depend on the body position and the equipment being used. Let's assume a coefficient of drag of 1.0 and a surface area of 2.5 m^2. The density of air is approximately 1.225 kg/m^3.
Using the formula, we can plug in the values:
Drag Force = 0.5 * 1.0 * 1.225 kg/m^3 * (53.6 m/s)^2 * 2.5 m^2
Now we can calculate the air drag experienced by the skydiver:
Drag Force = 0.5 * 1.0 * 1.225 kg/m^3 * 2871.296 m^2/s^2 * 2.5 m^2
Drag Force = 1790.810 N
So, when the skydiver reaches terminal velocity, they would experience approximately 1790.810 Newtons of air drag.