Terminal Velocity Help: Solving for Upward Force and Fall Time

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving terminal velocity and the forces acting on a falling object, specifically a coffee filter and a stack of coffee filters. Participants are exploring the relationship between air resistance, velocity, and fall time.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the upward force of air resistance and its relationship to velocity. There are attempts to understand how the increase in the number of filters affects the forces and fall time. Questions arise about the implications of velocity on time and the need for height in calculations.

Discussion Status

Some participants have offered hints regarding the proportional relationships between air resistance, velocity, and time. There is acknowledgment of the complexity involved in calculating fall time without knowing the height of the building. Multiple interpretations of the problem are being explored, and guidance has been provided regarding the relationships between the variables.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the lack of information regarding the height of the building, which complicates the calculations. There is also mention of significant figures affecting the final answer.

fball558
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terminal velocity help!

Homework Statement


ok here is the problem. i found parts (a) and (b), but don't know part c.
You drop a single coffee filter of mass 1.8 grams from a very tall building, and it takes 45 seconds to reach the ground. In a small fraction of that time the coffee filter reached terminal speed.

(a) What was the upward force of the air resistance while the coffee filter was falling at terminal speed?
Fair = N

(b) Next you drop a stack of 5 of these coffee filters. What was the upward force of the air resistance while this stack of coffee filter was falling at terminal speed?
Fair = N

(c) Again assuming again that the stack reaches terminal speed very quickly, about how long will the stack of coffee filters take to hit the ground? (Hint: Consider the relation between speed and the force of air resistance.)
Fall time is approximately



Homework Equations


a is .01764 N
b is .0882

The Attempt at a Solution


not really sure what to do. at first i thought oh 5 times bigger means 5 times faster
WRONG lol
any help would be great
thanks
 
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(Hint: Consider the relation between speed and the force of air resistance.)

force of air resistance is proportional to velocity^2
 


i know the faster an object moves the more air particles it hits with means more air resistance force. but don't know what to do with this force.
would force = kenetic?
if so i could solve for velocity but i don't know height of the building so don't know how that will help.
 


force of air resistance is proportional to velocity^2

And you know the force increased by 5 times so the velocity would need to increase by...
 


but how is velocity going to give me drop time (in seconds) if i don't know the height of the building. (velocity is in m/s and i don't know (m) of building)
 


But the height of the building does not change. Velocity = distance / time
Since the distance does not change the only thing that can alter velocity is time.
 


ok i still got the wrong answer. can you show me what to do?
 


Fair is proportional to v2
v is proportional to 1/t

Fair changes by a factor of 5.
So velocity will change by a factor of \sqrt{5}
And time will change by a factor of 1/\sqrt{5}

So your answer should be t = 45 x 1/\sqrt{5}
 


thanks i had that my only problem was sig figs.
got to hate them lol
problem has 2 sig. figs. but the answer wanted
4 don't know why ?
 

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