FALLING OBJECTS & TERMINAL VELOCITY

==Falling Objects== [image:http://i.imgur.com/dtsXc2i.png?1] Ignoring any air resistance, the only force acting on the ball as it travels through the air is the force due to gravity (weight). An object which satisfied this is called a projectile. This is why the ball decelerates (slows down) on its way up and then accelerates on its way down. ==Terminal Velocity== [image:http://i.imgur.com/rI8xabV.png?2] Initially, as an object starts to fall the force due to gravity is greater than the air resistance (drag). Because the downward force is greater there is a net force that causes the object to accelerate downwards. As the objects speed through the air increases there is greater drag force between the objects surface and the air particles. Therefore, the faster the object falls the greater the air resistance (drag). Eventually the drag force equals the weight force. The forces are now balanced and object ceases to accelerate and travels at a constant velocity towards the surface of the Earth. The maximum velocity reached by a falling object is called the '''terminal velocity'''. Opening a parachute further increases the drag force, causing the sky diver to decelerate (slow down). As the skydiver slows down, the drag force decreases until it balances the weight force once more and a new, slower terminal velocity is reached. ==Graphing Terminal Velocity== Below is a '''Velocity-Time''' graph for an object reaching terminal velocity: [image:http://i.imgur.com/fDCAzz8.png]