Terminal Velocity

• Fraction:

  • Acts in the opposite direction to movement
  • To travel at a steady speed, the driving force needs to balance the frictional forces
  • You get friction between two forces in contact
• Drag

  • Increases as speed increases
  • The resistance you get in a fluid
  • Air resistance is a type of drag
  • Can be reduced by keeping an object streamlined
• Falling objects

  • When it first sets off, the force of gravity is much more than the frictional force slowing it down, so it accelerates
  • As speed increases, the friction builds up
  • This reduces the acceleration until the frictional force is equal to the accelerating force, so the resultant force is zero
  • This means terminal velocity has been reached and it will fall at a steady speed
• Terminal velocity depends on shape and area