Cone falling from a Cliff.
The situation is similar to the
flying
rocket
with the direction of the forces reversed.
Weight is the
force pulling the cone downwards,
Air resistance
(drag) is the force pushing the
cone upwards.
When the cone first falls,
there is a force from the weight of the cone
but very little drag
because the cone is moving slowly and air
resistance is small.
The forces are unbalanced
(large downward
force, small upward force)
and so the cone has a large acceleration
in the direction of the larger force
(downwards)
As the cone gets faster,
the drag increases and acceleration decreases
until the weight and drag are equal in
size.
Now the forces are balanced and the
cone will continue to fall
with a constant velocity called its
terminal velocity
(this is as fast as the falling object can
go).
The motion of the cone is shown on the velocity - time graph below.
The red
curve shows acceleration changing from large to small.
The blue line shows the cone's terminal velocity (constant
velocity).
Calculations on the next page.
Headings Forces and
Motion Search Questions 
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