The Forces on a Falling Object — Step by Step
Part of Terminal Velocity · GCSE GCSE Physics revision
This deep dive covers The Forces on a Falling Object — Step by Step within Terminal Velocity for GCSE Physics. Revise Terminal Velocity in Extra Topics for GCSE Physics with 13 exam-style questions and 11 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 2 of 13 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 2 of 13
Practice
13 questions
Recall
11 flashcards
💪 The Forces on a Falling Object — Step by Step
Understanding terminal velocity is really about tracking two forces and how they change relative to each other as speed increases.
Stage 1 — Just After Starting to Fall
Weight (downward) is much greater than drag (upward). The resultant force is large and downward, so the object accelerates rapidly at close to 10 m/s² (gravitational field strength, g).
Stage 2 — Speeding Up
As speed increases, drag increases too. This is because drag depends on speed — roughly proportional to speed squared for most objects. The resultant force is still downward, so the object still accelerates, but the acceleration is now smaller than before.
Stage 3 — At Terminal Velocity
Eventually drag equals weight. The resultant force is now zero. By Newton's Second Law (F = ma), if F = 0 then a = 0. The object moves at a constant velocity — this is terminal velocity.
It is important to note that the object is still moving and still falling — it just isn't speeding up any more.
Keep building this topic
Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Terminal Velocity. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.
Practice Questions for Terminal Velocity
An object reaches terminal velocity when falling through air. Which statement correctly describes the forces at terminal velocity?
Explain how a skydiver reaches terminal velocity after jumping from a plane. Include changes to forces and acceleration in your answer.
Quick Recall Flashcards
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