Luz, who is skydiving, is traveling at terminal velocity with her body parallel to the ground. She then changes her body position to feet first toward the ground. What happens to her motion?
Answer
A
She will continue to fall at the same terminal velocity because gravity has not changed.
B
She will slow down because the air resistance will increase and be greater than gravity.
C
She will speed up because air resistance will decrease and be less than gravity.
D
She will begin to fall in free fall because she will have no air resistance acting on her.
Explanation
When Luz is parallel to the ground, her large exposed area creates substantial air resistance. Turning feet first reduces the area facing the airflow, so air resistance decreases. It is then less than her weight due to gravity, giving her a downward net force and causing her to speed up until she reaches a new, higher terminal velocity. Choice D describes this change.
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