Falling Speeds: Terminal Does Not Mean Stopped

Read weight and drag arrows before describing the motion.

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For an object descending through still air, weight acts down and drag up. Ignore buoyancy here. Net force is weight minus drag. Equal forces give zero acceleration, not necessarily zero downward speed.

Worked example

With weight 10 N and drag 6 N, net force is 4 N down. At terminal speed, drag is 10 N and balances weight. The object can keep descending at a steady speed.

Two force diagrams show downward weight of 10 newtons. With upward drag of 6 newtons, net force is 4 newtons down. With drag of 10 newtons, net force is zero and downward speed can be constant.

Would you believe it?

A parachute can lower terminal speed by increasing drag. Balanced weight and drag do not mean an object stops: it can keep falling at a steady nonzero speed.

OpenStax: drag and terminal speed

Question 1 What is the net force when weight is 10 N and drag 6 N? 4 N upward 4 N downward 16 N downward

Question 2 At equal weight and drag, acceleration is what? Zero Always downward Equal to speed

Question 3 At terminal speed, what can the object be doing? Hanging still in empty air Accelerating faster every second Falling at constant nonzero speed

Question 4 Drag becomes greater than weight while motion is down. What happens initially? It speeds up downward The downward motion slows It instantly stops

Question 5 Must a short fall reach nearly terminal speed? No, there may not be enough time Yes, any fall instantly does Only heavier objects fall briefly

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