Terminal Velocity (3 of 3)
Terminal velocity is encountered any time you drive your car with a constant speed. The animation below shows the forces acting on a car starting from rest.
[QuickTime version of this animation]
Be sure to watch the animation enough times to examine the following key concepts:
- Initially, the applied force from the engine is the net force.
- As the speed of the truck increases, the force of air friction (drag) also increases. The faster the car goes, the smaller the net force becomes.
- Once the Fengine is cancelled out by the Fdrag, the net force is zero so there is no acceleration. The car moves with a constant velocity of 20 mph. 20 mph is the terminal velocity!