# Calculating Coefficient of Air Resistance

Bashyboy
Hello,

For my Classical Mechanics Lab, my fellow students and I are to calculate the coefficient of air-resistance of several objects dropped from the roof of our science building. We are assuming that the air-resistance is linear in nature. The first method by which we calculate the drag coefficient is by measuring the diameters of the objects and their masses. The second method is to record the dropping of the objects and extrapolating data from the videos. Currently, I am working on the former method. We recorded the temperature on the day of the drop as 48 degrees Fahrenheit, with 85% humidity, and the pressure was 30.5 pounds/inch. I understand that the linear air-resistance coefficient is $b=\beta D$. I have searched the internet to find what beta is equal to, but all I can find is what is equal to at STP. Does anyone know of a formula for beta?

Staff Emeritus
Homework Helper
I don't know what a pressure of 30.5 pounds per inch means but it sounds pretty high, especially if it is supposed to be atmospheric. Are you sure your experiments aren't supposed to provide the data to calculate 'b'?