Terminal Velocity
2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 1. Forces & Motion → Forces, Movement & Changing Shape
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The two forces on a falling object
Every falling object carries exactly two forces: its weight, downward, and air resistance, upward. The weight stays fixed for the whole fall; the drag grows with every gain in speed. Holding those two behaviours side by side is the key to everything that follows.
What you know already
Nothing falls through air unopposed. Two forces run the story — the constant downward weight and the growing upward drag — and their race decides everything: the initial surge, the fading acceleration, and the steady final pace called terminal velocity.
Key points of understanding
- A falling object experiences two forces: its weight and air resistance.
- Air resistance increases as the object's speed increases, because faster motion means more collisions with air particles.
- The weight of the object does not change during the fall.
- The constancy follows from W = m × g: neither the mass nor the freefall acceleration changes.
- At the moment of release the only force is the weight, so the initial acceleration is at its maximum.
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1.The two forces on a falling object
Every falling object carries exactly two forces: its weight, downward, and air resistance, upward. The weight stays fixed for the whole fall; the drag grows with every gain in speed. Holding those two behaviours side by side is the key to everything that follows.
Key points
- A falling object experiences two forces: its weight and air resistance.
- Air resistance increases as the object's speed increases, because faster motion means more collisions with air particles.
- The weight of the object does not change during the fall.
- The constancy follows from W = m × g: neither the mass nor the freefall acceleration changes.
- At the moment of release the only force is the weight, so the initial acceleration is at its maximum.
Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_Mrfn29ZgQMq8th5P, pinned at bfae99778094 · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources b3caaaa90c5e
