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A 75 kg skydiver falls head first, minimizing frontal area and drag. What terminal velocity does the source report for this position?
AAbout 700 km/h
BAbout 35 km/h
CAbout 3500 km/h
DAbout 350 km/h
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. About 350 km/h
1. The source works through the terminal velocity formula for this exact case and reports its result.
2. A 75 kg skydiver falling head first achieves a maximum terminal velocity of about 350 km/h.
3. This is the highest terminal velocity mentioned for a human skydiver, since minimizing frontal area minimizes drag at any given speed.
4. 35 km/h and 700 km/h are off by a factor of ten in each direction from the reported value.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 5 "Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity", section 5.2 Drag Forces_
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