A sky diver jumpsout of a hovering helicopter. A few seconds later, anothersky d

ID: 1755386 • Letter: A

Question

A sky diver jumpsout of a hovering helicopter. A few seconds

later, anothersky diver jumps out, and they both fall along

the same verticalline. Ignore air resistance, so that both sky

divers fall withthe same acceleration. Does the difference in

their speeds staythe same throughout the fall? Does the vertical

distance betweenthem stay the same throughout the fall?

If the two diverswere connected by a long bungee cord,

would the tensionin the cord increase, lessen, or stay the

same during thefall?

At any giveninstant, the speeds of the divers are

t after this instant, however, the two diversincrease their

speeds by thesame amount because they have the same acceleration.

Thus, thedifference in their speeds remains the

same throughoutthe fall.

The first jumperalways has a greater speed than the second.

Thus, in a giventime interval, the first diver covers a

greater distancethan the second. Thus, the separation distance

between themincreases.

Once the distancebetween the divers reaches the length

of the bungeecord, the tension in the cord begins to increase.

As the tensionincreases, the distance between the

divers becomes greater andgreater.

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