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Terminal Speed

An object falling in fluid experiences an upward drag force due to fluid resistance and upthrust.The weight of the object mg acts downwards.
As drag increases the resultant force decreases so the acceleration decreases to zero so the object reaches terminal speed.

W - D = 0

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Specification: AQA Physics (7407), AS-level, 3.4.1.5 Newton's laws of motion. Topic: Newtons Laws of Motion.

Key terms in this lesson

Vector quantity
A physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
Momentum
The product of an object's mass and its velocity; a vector quantity, conserved in any interaction provided no external resultant force acts.

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