After she jumps, a sky diver reaches terminal speed after 10 seconds.?

Question

After she jumps, a sky diver reaches terminal speed after 10 seconds. Does she gain more speed during the first second of fall of the ninth second of fall? Compared with the first second of fall, does she fall a greater or a lesser distance during the ninth second?

Her first jump was as she falls faster and faster through the air (before reaching terminal speed), does the net force on her increase, decrease, or remain unchanged? Does her acceleration increase, decrease, or remain unchanged? Defend your answers.

Answer 1

Her first jump was as she falls faster and faster through the air (before reaching terminal speed), does the net force on her increase, decrease, or remain unchanged? Does her acceleration increase, decrease, or remain unchanged? Defend your answers.

1.) Assuming constant air resistance on the jump, then the diver gains the same amount of speed until she hits terminal velocity.

2.) Since she continues gaining speed through each second (for the first 10 seconds), her initial speed at the beginning of the ninth second is greater than the initial speed at the beginning of the first second. Thus, she falls further during the ninth second.

3 and 4.) Force = mass * acceleration. The diver accelerates during the first 10 seconds, thus force is acting upon her. Gravity is a constant (since her mass is negligible to earth, and her distance from the center of the earth changes a negligible amount during the period), so the force and acceleration is a constant.

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