Chapter 3, Problem 15STP

To determine

Whether both balls will reach the same terminal velocity.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

The sizes of the both balls are same, but one has mass ten times greater than the other.

The terminal velocity is the velocity of an object at which the drag force is equal to the gravity.

The terminal velocity of an object is given by.

  $V_t=\sqrt{\frac{2mg}{\rho A{C}_d}}$

Here,

• $V_t$ is the terminal velocity.
• $m$ is the mass.
• $g$ is the gravitational constant.
• $C_d$ is the drag coefficient of the medium.
• is the cross sectional area.

The terminal velocity depends on the mass, cross sectional area, and drag coefficient of the medium. The balls with different masses will have different terminal velocities. So, the ball with greater mass will have the grater terminal velocity.

Conclusion:

The ball with greater mass will have the grater terminal velocity.