What is meant by air resistance?
Translation: Air resistance is a force that is caused by air. The force acts in the opposite direction to an object moving through the air. A lorry with a flat front will experience high air resistance while a sports car with a streamlined shape will experience lower air resistance, allowing the car to go faster.
How do you reduce air resistance?
Two ways to reduce air resistance are stated: reducing the area in contact with air (by the cyclist ducking down or cycling behind someone else) and by being more streamlined (wearing smoother surfaces or a more streamlined helmet).
What is air resistance and how does it work?
To recap, air resistance is a force that acts in the opposite direction of a moving object and is a type of friction. Greater surface area on a moving object can increase air resistance. Air resistance works as an opposing force for both falling objects and those moving on the ground.
What is the relationship between air resistance and velocity?
The air resistance force is proportional to the velocity at which the object is moving. The objects reach a terminal velocity when the force of gravity equals the air resistance; there is no acceleration at that point. Terminal velocity is larger for more massive objects.
What is the difference between friction and air resistance?
Friction is a force that causes objects to slow down because of surfaces rubbing against each other. Air resistance slows the movement of certain objects more than others. Think back to our original example of the falling pieces of paper. How were they different? One paper was wadded into a ball, while the other was flat and spread out.
What is the air resistance of paper?
That’s what air resistance is. The air is resisting. There’s resistance, so this paper has to move all of the air out of the way and the bigger the surface, the more of the air, the more resistance the slower it falls.