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When he first jumps, his weight is the only force acting on his body. As he accelerates, the air resistance force, which acts in the opposition direction to the weight, increases in magnitude. When these two forces equal, they cancel each other out, which means that the diver does not accelerate anymore. This speed is the terminal speed. It's all a matter of forces.
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If a skydiver reaches terminal speed after ten seconds will the skydiver gain more speed during the first second or the ninth second?
I would imagine that it is uniform acceleration up until terminal speed. However, wind resistance will be higher 10000 feet up, so acceleration may be less at the start
How can a skier achieve greater velocity than a skydiver?
If a skier is in a jump, then a skier and skydiver is pretty much the same thing. In general though, a skydiver has only air resistance, the skier has air resistance and friction with the ski-snow, so the skydiver has an edge on speed.
Is the skydiver increasing or decreasing his speed during the first 3 seconds?
Increasing.
How does drag work?
Drag force, or the force of air friction for a falling body, increases with speed. A falling object will reach a speed at which the force of air friction will be equal to and opposite the force of gravity. At that point, the object will no longer accelerate. It's speed will remain constant, and we call that speed (and direction) its terminal velocity.
What is the skydiver's downward velocity?
Maximum speed is about 220 to 230mph and can be achieved after about 20 seconds of freefall. Normal parachute opening speed should be not greater that 120mph to avoid damage to the parachute
