🪂 TERMINAL VELOCITY
PAGE 1 OF 5, FALLING THROUGH AIR
GRAVITY PULLS DOWN
YOU DON'T SPEED UP FOREVER
When you jump from a plane, gravity pulls you downward and you accelerate. But you do not keep getting faster without limit. As your speed increases, air pushes back harder against you. This upward force is air resistance, also called drag. Drag grows with speed until it exactly balances your weight. At that point the net force on you is zero, acceleration stops, and you fall at a constant maximum speed called terminal velocity.
⚖️ BALANCE POINT
Terminal velocity is reached when drag force equals weight. Net force = 0, so acceleration = 0 and speed stays constant.
FALL!
WEIGHT DOWN
⬇️ Weight = mg, always downward
→ Heavier object, stronger pull
🌍 g = 9.8 m/s² on Earth
→ Heavier object, stronger pull
🌍 g = 9.8 m/s² on Earth
DRAG UP
⬆️ Drag opposes motion through air
💨 Faster fall = bigger drag force
⚖️ Drag grows until it matches weight
💨 Faster fall = bigger drag force
⚖️ Drag grows until it matches weight