A 63.9 kg skydiver falls through the air and eventually reaches terminal velocity. The force of air resistance acting on the skydiver at terminal velocity is:

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Question restatement: A 63.9 kg skydiver reaches terminal velocity in air; what is the force of air resistance acting on the skydiver at that moment?

Step 1: Understand terminal velocity. At terminal velocity, the acceleration is zero because the air resistance (drag) exactly balances the weight of the skydiver. Therefore, the drag force equals the gravitational force.

Step 2: Compute weight. The gravitational force (weight) is F_g = m g. With m = 63.9 kg and using g ≈ 9.81 m/s^2, F_g = 63.9 × 9.81 ≈ 626.86 N.

Step 3: Equate forces at terminal velocity. Since drag balances weight, F_drag = F_g ≈ 626.86 N. So the air resistance at terminal velocity should be about 626.86 N.

Note on given data: The problem provides an answer value of 626.86, which matches the calculation using g = 9.81 m/s^2. If different gravitational acceleration were used (e.g., g = 9.8), the result would be very close (≈626.22 N). The key concept remains: at terminal velocity, drag force equals weight, not some other value, so the drag force is approximately m g.

Since no answer options were supplied in the prompt, the explanation focuses on the fundamental relationship and the numerical result derived from F_drag = m g with the standard Earth gravity.

MUF0121 Physics Unit 1 - Semester 2, 2025

A 63.9 kg skydiver falls through the air and eventually reaches terminal velocity. The force of air resistance acting on the skydiver at terminal velocity is:

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