Terminal Velocity

Lab Brief #12

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

As a falling object speeds up, drag grows with speed. When drag has grown to equal weight, the resultant force is zero and acceleration stops — the object falls at a constant terminal velocity. A skydiver's terminal velocity drops sharply when the parachute opens.

Key words

drag
The resistive force on an object moving through a fluid, growing with speed.
terminal velocity
The constant speed reached when drag balances weight.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

paper
scissors
stopwatch
paper clips
metre rule

Get ready

⚠️ Safety first

Use scissors carefully and cut on a flat surface.
Drop from a stable step, not a chair, and have someone spot you.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "drag" and "terminal velocity" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Drop paper cones of the same mass but different mouth diameters from a fixed height and time each fall. Plot terminal velocity against cone area and describe the relationship you see.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

At terminal velocity the resultant force on a falling object is:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

When a parachute opens, terminal velocity:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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