Terminal velocity

Question 1

What is terminal velocity?

Answer 1

• The maximum speed reached by an object as it falls through a fluid

Question 2

How is terminal velocity reached?

Answer 2

• As an object falls in air, there are two forces acting on it: weight (downwards) and air resistance (upwards)
• As the object starts to fall, its air resistance is very low as the object is falling slowly
• As the velocity of the object increases, so does the air resistance until it is equal to the weight of the object
• At this point, the air resistance is equal and opposite to the weight of the object, meaning the resultant force is 0
• This means that no further acceleration happens and the object has reached its terminal velocity

Question 3

What is the air resitance on an object dependent on?

Answer 3

• The objects surface area and velocity