by decreasing the force of gravity acting on the parachutist by decreasing the total mass of the parachutist by increasing the surrounding air pressure around the parachute by increasing the total surface area of the parachute
I gave my students this multiple choice question: How does a parachute sufficiently increase air resistance to allow the parachutist to land safely?

Only one answer is correct among these 4 choices:
- by decreasing the force of gravity acting on the parachutist
- by decreasing the total mass of the parachutist
- by increasing the surrounding air pressure around the parachute
- by increasing the total surface area of the parachute

Could you tell me which one is correct?

by increasing the total surface area of the parachute