Terminal Velocity

Falling objects are acted on by a downward force (__________) and an upward force (__________).

Free body diagram of an object falling through air

We can take the upward force away from the downward force to find the __________ force acting on the object.

If the __________ force acting on a body is not zero, it will __________ in the direction of the resultant force.

At the start of a fall the forces are __________ and the object __________, but as the speed of the object builds up the air resistance increases.

At some speed the air resistance will equal weight and the forces will become __________ and so there will be no more __________. The object continues to fall at a constant speed known as its 'Terminal Velocity'. Different shapes have different amounts of air resistance and so have different terminal velocities.