"If an object was dropped from a balloon at a moderately high altitude, it would not continue to accelerate at 980 cm/s^2 all the way to the ground. Why not? What happens when the velocity becomes large?"

Could someone help me answer this question? We haven't gone over this in class yet, so I'm not sure how to answer this.

My guess is that air resistance slows it down?

Question

"If an object was dropped from a balloon at a moderately high altitude, it would not continue to accelerate at 980 cm/s^2 all the way to the ground. Why not? What happens when the velocity becomes large?"

Could someone help me answer this question? We haven't gone over this in class yet, so I'm not sure how to answer this. 

My guess is that air resistance slows it down?

anonymous · Answer

You are correct. The force of air resistance opposes the gravitational force. And air resistance grows as the the velocity of the falling object grows. If the object falls long enough, the force of air resistance grows until it is equal to the gravitational force. The two forces are now in balance and the object stops accelerating. The velocity at which this happens is called terminal velocity.

anonymous · Answer

Oh my gosh, I actually got it right! Thank you so much, I really appreciate your explanation. It was very helpful and informative :)

anonymous · Answer

You're welcome. I see this is your first question. Welcome to OpenStudy!

anonymous · Answer

Thank you! Technically I've been using OpenStudy since summer, but this is my first physics question. I usually do math questions!