Just after opening a parachute of negligible mass, a parachutist of mass 85.5 kg experiences an instantaneous upward acceleration of 1.12 m/s2. Find the force of the air on the parachute.
To find the force of the air on the parachute, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force acting on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration. In this case, the force is the force of the air on the parachute, the mass is the mass of the parachutist, and the acceleration is the upward acceleration.
The force of the air on the parachute can be calculated using the equation:
Force = Mass * Acceleration
Given:
Mass of the parachutist, m = 85.5 kg
Upward acceleration, a = 1.12 m/s^2
Plugging in the values:
Force = 85.5 kg * 1.12 m/s^2
Now we can calculate the force:
Force = 95.76 N
Therefore, the force of the air on the parachute is approximately 95.76 Newtons.