According to Wikipedia, on October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, jumped from a balloon at an altitude of 38,963.3 meters, and fell into history. He was in free fall for 4 minutes 19 seconds, and on the way down reached the speed of 1,357.64 km/h, becoming the first human being to break the sound barrier without being enclosed in a vehicle.
Before doing the following writing assignment, view the video of this astounding jump (linked above).
Because the jump took place in the atmosphere, the air did affect his motion.
But what if there had been no air?
How long would it have taken him to reach 1357.64 km/hr? What final speed would he have reached? What would be his acceleration on the way down?
Of course, there actually was air.
At what point in his descent did he reach his maximum speed? Was his acceleration constant all the all the way down or not? If his acceleration was variable, describe any changes in the acceleration from the moment he stepped out of the capsule to the moment he reached the ground. Don't forget to consider the effects of the parachute, since the parachute portion of his descent was part of his journey.
In spite of the extraordinary effort and resources required for Felix to capture the un-encapsulated free-fall record, his record no longer stands.
Who broke it, when was it broken, and what is the new altitude record?
ignoring air resistance,
v^2 = 2as = 2 * 9.8 * 38,963.3
v = 873.89 m/s = 3146 km/hr on impact
so, using your other equations of motion, what else do you know?