A 72 kg skydiver is descending on a parachute. His speed is still increasing at 1.2 m/s2. What are the magnitude and direction of the force of the parachute harness on the diver? What are the magnitude and direction of the net force on the diver?

Parachute exerts a force of 619.2 N upward

The net force is 86.4 N acting downward

Explanation:

As the gravitational acceleration g = 9.8 m/s2, the parachute help reduces the net acceleration to 1.2m/s. So it must exerted an upward acceleration on the skydiver of

9.8 - 1.2 = 8.6 m/s2

Since the skydiver mass is 72 kg, we can use Newton's 2nd law to calculate the force that causes this acceleration of 8.6

F = ma = 8.6*72 = 619.2 N acting upward

The net force is also the product of net acceleration and mass

= 1.2 * 72 = 86.4 N acting downward

c. magnitude and direction