Question

During a free fall, a skydiver falls 16 feet in the 1st second, 48 feet in the 2nd second, and 80 feet in the 3rd second. If she continues to fall at this rate, how many feet will she fall during the 8th second?

Answer 1

She will be falling `240` feet per second after `8` seconds.

Explanation:

This is an arithmetic sequence, so a number of feet is added on to her fall for each second that she is in the air. This number, also know as the common difference is `32` feet.

We can use the formula `t_n = a + (n - 1)d` to represent the distance she falls on every second after `n` seconds.

`t_8 = 16 + (8 - 1)32`

`t_8 = 16 + 7(32)`

`t_8 = 16 + 224`

`t_8 = 240`

Hopefully this helps!