Question

A sugar glider is a small possum found in eastern Australia which is capable of gliding through the air through the use of flaps of skin between its hands and its toes. Consider a sugar glider which jumps from a tree and glides at a constant speed of 3.5 m/s at a constant angle that is 20? below the horizontal. (a) Draw a force diagram for the sugar glider. Discuss the forces involved. Specify the direction and relative magnitude of each of the forces. (b) If the glider jumps from a height of 8.5 m, how long would it take to reach the ground? (1 mark) (c) Repeat your calculation for the time the glider takes to reach the ground for the case where the glider retracts its flaps of skin and undergoes free-fall from a branch starting with zero downward velocity.

Answer 1