Physics Lens

Sky-Diving and Terminal Velocity

https://www.geogebra.org/m/wavar9bx

This is a wonderful applet created by Abdul Latiff, another Physics teacher from Singapore, on how air resistance varies during a sky-dive with a parachute. It clearly demonstrates how two different values of terminal velocity can be achieved during the dive.

Incidentally, there is a video on Youtube that complements the applet very well. I have changed the default values of the terminal velocities to match those of the video below for consistency.

Also relevant is the following javascript simulation that I made in 2016 which can show the changes in displacement, velocity and acceleration throughout the drop.

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