The terminal speed of a sky diver is 163 km/h in the spread-eagle position and 325 km/h in the nosedive position. assuming that the diver's drag coefficient c does not change from one position to the other, find the ratio of the effective cross-sectional area a in the slower position to that in the faster position.

Explanation:

The equation for terminal velocity is , where m is the mass of the sky diver, g the gravitational acceleration, the air density, A the effective cross-sectional area and the drag coefficient.

It will be easier if we write this as and realize that for both situations the right hand side of that formula will be the same. This means that , so the ratio of the effective cross-sectional area A in the slower position ( for ) to that in the faster position ( for ) will be

wind moving at higher speeds will transfer more energy to the water, resulting in stronger waves.