Reference no: EM131715846

TEAM ASSIGNMENT No. 1N

A parachutist whose mass is 75 kg drops from a helicopter hovering 4000 m above the ground and falls towards the earth under the influence of gravity. Assume that the gravitational force remains constant during the flight, and that the drag due to air resistance is proportional to the velocity of the parachutist, with a proportionality constant b = 150 N s/m when the chute is open. The chute opens immediately after the parachutist leaves the helicopter.

Assume the equation of motion to be:

TEAM ASSIGNMENT No. 1N

m dV = mg - b V dt

Assume the initial conditions to be: (i) t=0, y=0,and V =dy/dt=0

(a) Obtain an expression for the velocity of the parachutist as a function of time.

(b) What is the parachutist's terminal velocity ( t → ∞, V = V T )?

(c) Obtain an expression for the position of the parachutist as a function of time.

(d) What is the flight-time (tF time where the parachutist was airborne).