For this month’s project, I’ve chosen to learn, write, and eventually present about the physics behind air resistance and how it affects skydiving. Skydiving is something that simultaneously looks both horrifying and incredible. For people to quite literally jump out of a plane from thousands of feet up in the air with nothing but a parachute, I would assume (and hope) that the physics behind the activity are pretty sound. I chose this topic because I want to figure out exactly what those physics are, and why skydivers feel so comfortable and safe free-falling for thousands of feet.
Here’s a quick, simple video on the basics of skydiving in terms we can all understand – force diagrams and Newton’s laws. It doesn’t go into much depth about air resistance itself, but it gives a general overview of what happens to a skydiver’s velocity and acceleration while free-falling based on the forces acting on the diver.
Additionally, here is a photograph of an indoor skydiver. It works much the same way as regular skydiving – the force of air friction equals the man’s weight due to gravity, so the net force acting on him (and therefore his acceleration as well) equals zero. The main difference is that in an indoor facility, the air friction is due to a fan blowing air really quickly rather than the skydiver moving quickly through the air. This means that in an indoor facility, the diver is actually stationary, whereas in actual skydiving, the diver is (obviously) not.
I am not partnering with anyone, so my learning objectives are for me only. They are:
1. Understand the relationships between air resistance, terminal velocity, skydiving, kinematics, and Newton’s laws.
2. Learn to calculate air resistance based on the formula D = (1/2)*p*u^2*Cd*A where D is the drag force (like air friction), p is the density of the fluid, u is the object’s velocity, Cd is the object’s drag coefficient, and A is the object’s cross-sectional area.
3. Solve physics problems involving air resistance as it pertains to kinematics and to Newton’s laws.
4. Understand how the positioning of skydivers affects their velocity, drag force, etc.
5. Reach a solid conceptual understanding of the physics behind skydiving, and of why skydivers feel so safe jumping out of planes.
Physics of Skydiving 
Sounds like a fun topic. At first glance, you will get superficial explanations of Newton’s laws. Some suggestions: Delve into air resistance and what it really depends on and why. Also delve into why the skydivers form a “banana shape”. Then look into physics of rotation and figure out what happens when the diver scruches up and rotates versus spreads his limbs and rotates. Lots of physics there. I am sure you will easily find photos and videos for your first post.
Thank you for the advice. I’ve tried to incorporate it as I’ve found those topics in my research so far.
Looks good. May want to call your blog : Introduction to my physics investigation or some such thing.
Your blog looks great so far. I really enjoy the main photo of the skydiver. I also enjoyed reading your introduction because it is very thoughtful. Your learning objectives are very ambitious. Best of luck!