Question

At the end of the flight, the radiosonde is dropped and falls to earth by parachute. Suppose the parachute achieves its terminal speed at a height of $30 \mathrm{~km}$. As it descends into the atmosphere, how does the terminal speed change? A. It increases. B. It stays the same. C. It decreases.

Name: Problem 14, Chapter 13: College Physics: A Strategic Approach Volume 1
Uploaded: 2021-10-24T08:08:34-08:00
Duration: 2 min 6 s
Channel: Prabhu Ramji
Description: At the end of the flight, the radiosonde is dropped and falls to earth by parachute. Suppose the parachute achieves its terminal speed at a height of 30 km. As it descends into the atmosphere, how does the terminal speed change? A. It increases. B. It stays the same. C. It decreases.

   At the end of the flight, the radiosonde is dropped and falls to earth by parachute. Suppose the parachute achieves its terminal speed at a height of $30 \mathrm{~km}$. As it descends into the atmosphere, how does the terminal speed change?
A. It increases.
B. It stays the same.
C. It decreases.

College Physics: A Strategic Approach Volume 1

Randall D. Knight,… 2nd Edition

Chapter 13, Problem 14

Instant Answer

Solved by Expert Prabhu Ramji

10/24/2021

Step 1

This can be represented as: \[ v_t \propto \frac{1}{\rho} \] where $ v_t $ is the terminal speed and $ \rho $ is the air density. Show more…

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At the end of the flight, the radiosonde is dropped and falls to earth by parachute. Suppose the parachute achieves its terminal speed at a height of $30 \mathrm{~km}$. As it descends into the atmosphere, how does the terminal speed change? A. It increases. B. It stays the same. C. It decreases.

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Key Concepts

Terminal Velocity

Terminal velocity is the constant speed that an object reaches when the force of gravity is balanced by the drag force and other resistive forces acting against it. At this point, the net acceleration is zero, and the object descends at a steady speed.

Air Density Variation with Altitude

Air density decreases with altitude, meaning that at higher altitudes the air is thinner and offers less resistance to objects moving through it. As the object, such as a parachute, descends into denser layers of the atmosphere, it experiences increased drag.

Drag Force

Drag force is the resistive force exerted by air as an object moves through it. It depends on the object's speed, the cross-sectional area, the drag coefficient, and the density of the air. As density increases at lower altitudes, the drag force increases, impacting the object's velocity.

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