How Do You Calculate the Force of Air Friction on a Falling Basketball?

  • Thread starter Thread starter renixrawr
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Laws Newton's laws
AI Thread Summary
To calculate the force of air friction on a falling basketball, first determine the gravitational force using the equation fg = ma, which yields 24.5 N for a 2.5 kg basketball. The actual acceleration of the ball is 9.4 m/s², which is less than the gravitational acceleration of 9.8 m/s² due to air resistance. The difference in acceleration indicates the presence of air friction, which can be calculated using the equation ma = mg + Fdrag. By rearranging this equation, Fdrag can be found as Fdrag = mg - ma. The presence of air causes the basketball to experience a net force that reduces its acceleration compared to free fall in a vacuum.
renixrawr
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
NEWTON'S LAWS: please help!

:eek:

so I am kinda stuck.

problem:

a 2.5kg basketball is dropped from the top of a building. its acceleration is found to be 9.4m/s2 as it drops to the ground. What is the force of air friction on the ball as it falls?

so like...

a=9.4
m-2.5kg
ffs=?
fg=ma
=(2.5)(9.8)
fg= 24.5N

now how do i find Ffs?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
What would the acceleration be if there were no air (like in a vacuum)? What causes the difference? How can you use F=ma to solve for the air resistance force and acceleration?
 
from ma=mg+Fdrag that simple. a is given, g is 9.8
 

Thread 'Errors and significant figures'

I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
View full post »
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
View full post »

Similar threads

How do you identify the systems in which Newton's Third Law is obeyed?
Replies
6
Views
1K
How Do You Calculate Forces in a Multi-Block System with Friction?
Replies
7
Views
3K
Newton's third law problem/kinematics (Airboat problem/no friction)
Replies
3
Views
4K
Calculating Theoretical Reaction Force of Ball Traveling in Semi-Circle
Replies
43
Views
4K
How Does Newton's Third Law Apply to Friction and Air Resistance?
Replies
18
Views
3K
How Do You Calculate the Weight of a Block on an Inclined Plane?
Replies
6
Views
3K
Force required to negate vertical acceleration with friction
Replies
5
Views
2K
How Do You Calculate the Upward Force When a Calculator Rebounds Off the Floor?
Replies
4
Views
12K
Force of Falling Objects at a Height
Replies
13
Views
3K
How Do I Determine Force of Static Friction on a Rolling Car
Replies
15
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top