2022 Mechanical Properties of FluidsViscosity and Terminal Velocity Medium Question 1 of 2 in Viscosity and Terminal Velocity

A spherical ball is dropped in a long column of a highly viscous liquid. The curve in the graph shown…

A spherical ball is dropped in a long column of a highly viscous liquid. The curve in the graph shown which represents the speed of the ball ($v$) as a function of time ($t$) is:

A D
B A
C B
D C

The answer is C.

Solution

Initially the speed is zero; it then increases, and after some time it becomes constant (terminal velocity). The acceleration (slope of the v-t curve) first decreases and after some time becomes zero. So curve B represents the motion of the ball.

Concept v-t curve in a viscous liquid

Viscosity and Terminal Velocity in past papers

2 questions from this chapter have appeared across 2 exam years.