Teacher Demonstration
Use the live model as a shared screen demonstration before students try their own predictions and observations.
Physics / Newtonian Mechanics
Air Drag Under a Push Model
Explore Intro Page as an interactive EJS simulation for mechanics.
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1. Watch or Launch
Launch the Interactive
Open the simulation, adjust the controls, and compare what changes on screen before answering the concept-check questions.
2. Big Ideas
Key idea Air resistance is a velocity-dependent force that opposes motion. As speed increases, drag can grow until it balances the driving force or weight, producing terminal velocity.
What Students Can Learn
- Identify drag as a force opposite relative motion through air.
- Connect increasing speed to increasing drag in common models.
- Recognise terminal velocity as zero resultant force, not zero velocity.
- Compare motion with and without air resistance.
Guiding Question
When does the object stop accelerating even though it is still moving?
3. Try the Investigation
Start Without Strong Drag
Observe the motion when air resistance is small or absent.
Increase Drag Conditions
Change drag-related settings such as speed, area, or coefficient if available.
Look for Terminal Motion
Use the velocity or acceleration display to find when acceleration approaches zero.
Explain the Balance
Connect terminal velocity to drag balancing the driving force or weight.
4. Teacher Notes
Lesson Use
Use this to challenge the idea that a moving object must have a resultant force in the direction of motion.
Discussion Prompts
Ask: Why can velocity be non-zero when acceleration is zero? What force grows with speed?
Teaching Moves
Have students describe forces first, then motion, so terminal velocity becomes a force-balance idea.
5. Concept Check
These questions are generated from the topic and the concept illustrated by the simulation. Use them after students have explored the model.
Concept Score
Correct first attempts build a streak and unlock higher point multipliers on this device.
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Answer each question once to build your streak.
1. What direction does air resistance act on a moving object?
2. What is terminal velocity?
3. Why can drag increase during a fall?
4. At terminal velocity, what is the acceleration?
5. Why compare with and without air resistance?
Expert Challenge
Unlocks after 3 correct concept-check answers on this page.
1. A car moves forward while its acceleration is negative. What is the best interpretation?
2. A velocity-time graph gets steeper but remains a straight line segment over a short interval. What does the steepness indicate?
3. Can an object have high speed and zero acceleration?
4. A bus speeds up from rest by equal velocity increases every second. What does that suggest?
5. What does acceleration in the same direction as velocity generally do?
7. Learning Pulse
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