In 1987, as a Halloween stunt, two sky divers passed a pumpkin back and forth be
ID: 1589847 • Letter: I
Question
In 1987, as a Halloween stunt, two sky divers passed a pumpkin back and forth between them while they were in free fall just west of Chicago. The stunt was great fun until the last sky diver with the pumpkin opened his parachute. The pumpkin broke free from his grip, plummeted about 0.5 km, ripped through the roof of a house, slammed into the kitchen floor, and splattered all over the newly remodeled kitchen. From the sky diver’s viewpoint and from the pumpkin’s viewpoint, why did the sky diver lose control of the pumpkin?
From the sky diver's viewpoint, the apparent weight of the pumpkin suddenly and surprisingly increased and the pumpkin was ripped downward from his hands. From the pumpkin's viewpoint, the sudden upward force on the sky diver ripped him upward away from the pumpkin.
From the sky diver's viewpoint, his apparent weight suddenly and surprisingly reversed direction and the pumpkin was ripped downward from his hands. From the pumpkin's viewpoint, the sudden upward force on the sky diver ripped him upward away from the pumpkin.
From the sky diver's viewpoint, the apparent weight of the pumpkin suddenly and surprisingly increased and the pumpkin was ripped downward from his hands. From the pumpkin's viewpoint, the sudden downward force on itself ripped it downward away from the sky diver.
From the sky diver's viewpoint, the apparent weight of the pumpkin suddenly and surprisingly increased and the pumpkin was ripped downward from his hands. From the pumpkin's viewpoint, the sudden upward force on the sky diver ripped him upward away from the pumpkin.
Explanation / Answer
From the sky diver's viewpoint, the apparent weight of the pumpkin suddenly and surprisingly increased and the pumpkin was ripped downward from his hands. From the pumpkin's viewpoint, the sudden upward force on the sky diver ripped him upward away from the pumpkin.