Physics of Skydiving

Something that is on most people's list of things to do before they die is skydiving. The thrill and passion of overcoming a common fear of heights drives thousands every year to jump out of an airplane five thousand feet in the air. But do you know how much force you exert free falling towards the earth?

Let's say you jumped out of a plane five thousand feet in the air, neglecting air resistance, what would be your force in newtons? Well, according to the equation F=ma, and knowing that a= 9.81 m/s^2, and your mass in kilograms is 60, your force would be close to 600 N!

After you jump from the plane, you realize that you forgot your parachute (which would not be good), how much time do you have before you hit the ground (and survive of course)? Well, by rearranging the formula d = vit + (.5)at^2 to solve for time, you know that you have 311 seconds before striking the ground, plenty of time to solve for t and pray.

So when you fulfill your bucket list and finally skydive, remember the simple mathematics of your free-fall.