Question

A competitive downhill skier has little control over the environmental conditions of the ski slope. But she can choose her equipment and practice her technique to help control her speed.

Describe one way the skier can change her equipment to increase her maximum speed.

Answer 1

One way the skier can change her equipment to increase her maximum speed is by waxing the bottom of their skis.

• Skiers usually wax the bottom of their skis for reducing friction as they go down the slope.
• Hot wax which is applied on the whole ski, in specific, lessens the friction between the ski and the snow, which implies that one can go faster down the slope.
• In downhill skiing, as the skis push against the snow then kinetic friction arises which transfers some kinetic energy into thermal energy. The lesser the friction, the less heat the skier generate instead of speed, and the faster they go down the slope.
• Wax is the best way for increasing the speed of skis because it is a cheap and helpful manner to improve the skier's speed.

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