Which one among the following diagrams may correctly represent the motion of a skydiver during a jump ?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

NDA-II 2024 (GAT) Official Paper (Held On: 01 Sept, 2024)

Answer 1

CONCEPT:

Skydiver's Motion During a Jump

When a skydiver jumps from a height, they experience:
- Initial free fall with increasing speed due to gravity.
- After some time, air resistance increases and a balance is reached — this is called terminal velocity.
- Upon opening the parachute, there is a sudden increase in air resistance, causing the skydiver to decelerate rapidly.
This behavior results in a speed-time graph that:
- Increases quickly at first (acceleration).
- Then becomes nearly constant (terminal velocity).
- Then decreases sharply (parachute opens and deceleration occurs).

EXPLANATION:

Option 1: Shows the correct sequence:
- Speed increases initially.
- Plateaus (terminal velocity).
- Then sharply drops (due to parachute).
Option 2: Speed becomes zero too quickly and unrealistically; it doesn't match actual parachuting behavior.
Option 3: Shows a symmetrical triangle which is physically incorrect — skydivers don't decelerate back to zero speed without cause.
Option 4: Nearly correct, but less realistic than Option 1; it lacks a clear plateau for terminal velocity and the deceleration isn't as distinct.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Option 1.

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