A rubber ball of mass m is dropped from a cliff. As the ball falls, it is subject to air drag (a resistive force caused by the air). The drag force on the ball has magnitude bv2, where b is a constant drag coefficient and v is the instantaneous speed of the ball. The drag coefficient b is directly proportional to the cross sectional area of the ball and the density of the air and does not depend on the mass of the ball. As the ball falls, its speed approaches a constant value called the terminal speed. |
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