Physics DP1 Lab Report

Research question: What is the terminal velocity of the plastic ball and how to justify it with air
drag theory?

Group members: Ivan and William (DP1 students)

Division of work: Ivan (Background Information, Experiment, Theoretical Calculation, Reference

page), William (Introduction, Conclusion, Evaluation)

Content: Introduction, Background Information, Experiment, Theoretical calculation, Conclusion,

Evaluation, Reference Page

Word Count: 1850 words

1 Introduction
While studying the topic “Mechanics” as part of our IB Physics Course, we were so confused
with the fact that after certain period of time the falling object will maintain the constant velocity.
As both me and Ivan are interested in playing tennis, we were intrigued with this interesting
phenomenon in the physics world. Therefore, we decided to set up experimental research to
investigate if our theoretical calculations will be the same with the results of the experiment.
However, we realized that it would be quite difficult to have an accurate experiment and then
record it due to various external factors influencing the free fall of an object. Thus, we decided to
conduct our research in the enclosed area where external forces affect will be at least negligible
for our research study. We also understood that we could first make a theoretical calculation
based on the data we had and find the terminal velocity assuming that the drag force will be equal
to the weight of the ball in the certain moment of falling.
Measuring all the data with school equipment would be very difficult especially when we can’t
control the movement of the ball during its fall. We found that we could solve this problem by
making the ball fall vertically from the rest. Thus, we decided to examine the terminal velocity of
the ball that led us to the question: “How to find and justify the terminal velocity of the plastic
ball using the air drag theory?”

2 Background Information
While the plastic ball is falling vertically from the rest, there is a force that is directly opposite to
the direction of the ball’s velocity. This force is called the air drag force. This force exists
because of the air particles being more compressed on the front-facing surfaces and more spaced
out on the back surfaces. Thus, by Newton’s third law, the particles exert an equal and opposite
force on the plastic ball itself. The air drag force on a moving plastic ball can be described by a
formula,

Fd = ½*C*ρ*A*v^2
where

C - drag coefficient
ρ - density of the air
v - terminal velocity of the object
A - area of the surface of the object facing the air resistance
Fd – drag force acting on the ball
When the ball is initially dropped from some height, the only force acting on the ball is the force
of gravity, which accelerates the body downwards. However, as the velocity of the ball increases,
the drag force also increases as seen in the formula given above. Eventually the drag force
 becomes equal to the weight (W) of the ball and the body is in equilibrium where it reaches the
terminal velocity. It has a net acceleration of 0.

Figure 1: Depiction of drag force and how terminal velocity is achieved

For our research, we will need an equation relating the mass of the object and terminal velocity.
Assuming the only forces acting on a body in a free fall are drag and weight, we can use Newton’s
second law,

Fnet = ma
mg – Fd = ma
mg – ½ C* ρ*A*v^2 = ma
When the body reaches its terminal velocity, its acceleration is zero, therefore,

mg – ½ C* ρ*A*v^2 = 0
v = √2mg / C* ρ*A
which is the equation we will use for our investigation.

3 Experiment

3.1 Parameters
Control Variables:

• The size and shape of the ball used: Changing the shape of the ball will affect the area
of the ball and thus result in a systematic error. This is controlled by using the same ball
throughout the experiment.
• The manner in which the ball was dropped: The height of the balls from the floor and
the force applied while dropping them could affect the terminal velocity measured. We
 dropped the ball from the same height and with no initial force simply letting the ball slip
from the hand.
• Sudden air movements: Sudden air movements could change the speed of the ball
moving downwards and consequently the measured terminal velocity. Thus, the windows
in the lap we kept closed to minimize sudden wind as much as possible, to avoid random
errors.
• Height of from which the ball was dropped: The drop height was kept constant
throughout the experiment at 2.5 m, measured using a meter rule.

3.2 Apparatus
• Plastic ball (1) (1)
• Meter rule (± 0.01m) (2)
• Camera (iPhone 14) (2)
• Meter rule for measuring the length of the ball (±0.01m)

3.3 Experiment design

The phone was set to record and the ball was positioned at the drop height of 2.5 m such that the
last 0.4 m of its downward fall is in full view of the camera. The ball was then dropped. When
the ball hit the bottom point, the recording was stopped.
The frames before and after the drop where the ball was not in view were removed and the video
was uploaded onto a video analysis software Tracker, which was used to graph the ball’s
changing position with time. The slope of this graph was then calculated. Assuming the ball is at
terminal velocity during the last 0.4 m of its fall, the slope of this graph gives us the terminal
velocity v. This is repeated for 3 trials in total. Then, we measured the terminal velocity by using
the equation mentioned in part 2.

3.4 Methodology
Our first step was to calculate the terminal velocity using our camera and the meter rule. We set
up an experiment and then uploaded the video to the online tracker app where we could find the
slope of the graph that would be the terminal velocity of the ball. After we recorded 3 trials, we
could create 3 graphs that would show that the ball indeed reaches terminal velocity in the low
points of its fall. The terminal velocity will be negative as the direction of it is opposite to the
positive y-axis. The 3 graphs below illustrate the results from the Online Tracker app that we
achieved through our experiment. Y-axis – distance traveled by the balls, and X-axis is the time it
takes for the ball to fall. The difference in time between every point on the graph is 0.1 second.
The value of the parameter A on every photo (look at the legend below the graph) illustrates the
terminal velocity of the ball in every trial. You can see this data below in the table 1:

Trials Terminal velocity measured Absolute error

v / ms^-1
Trial 1 -1.24 ±0.01
Trial 2 -1.277 ±0.08
Trial 3 -1.25 ±0.02
Table 1: Data showing the terminal velocity achieved by the ball

Therefore, by setting up the real experiment we managed to find the terminal velocity of the falling
ball by simulating is motion using special app. We didn’t get the certain fixed number as we assume
that there is no wind in the lab and the ball moves perpendicularly not changing its shape.

4 Theoretical calculation

4.1 Raw Data

Drag Mass of Air Radius of The

Coefficient the ball density the ball gravitational
m/g r/m constant
С Δm = ± kg / m^3 Δr = m/s2
0.01 g ±0.001 m
0.47 3.23 1300 0.028 9.81
Table 2: A summary of the properties being used in the calculations

We searched the drag coefficient (C) in the literature and for the sphere like our ball it was 0.5, so we
decided to keep the number as a control variable as it differs depending on the shape of the object.
By using the electronic weighs in our lab that has an error of ±0.01 g, we found the mass of the ball.
In addition, we found the air density in the literature that we assume to be constant in the lab. The
gravitational constant was rounded up to three significant figures.
 4.2 Processed data

However, to find the radius of the ball, we first measured the length of the circumference by using
the meter rule. When we got the length of 17.9 cm, we used another formula to find the diameter of
the ball and then its radius:
d = Length / π
d = 0.179 m / π = 0.057 m ±0.001 m
r = d / 2 = 0.057 / 2 = 0.028 m ±0.001 m
Hence, we can find the value of terminal velocity by using the formula:

v = √2mg / C* ρ*A
Area of the surface of the ball can be calculated by using the formula for the area of the
circumference. Thus, substituting the letter with numbers from the Table 2 we can calculate terminal
velocity of the ball:

v = √2 * (3.23*10^-3) * 9.81 / 0.47 * 1300 * π * (0.028)^2 ≈ 0.21 m s^-1

In order to calculate the uncertainty of the terminal velocity we can use the formula:

Δv = v * (Δm/m + 2(Δr/r) = 0.21 * (0.01/3.23 + 2(0.001/0.028)) = 0.02

We can see that the result from theoretical calculations and the real experiment are quite different.
This can be explained by the low drag coefficient that was taken from the literature as we were
unable to find it under such circumstances. We assume that the experiment was closer to the real
numbers as it was checked by the special app.

5 Conclusion
In response to our original question: “How to find and justify the terminal velocity of the
plastic ball using the air drag theory?”, the data obtained shows that the results of the
theoretical calculations differ from the results we achieved from the real experiment using Online
Tracker app to calculate the terminal velocity. In the end, we couldn’t find the exact terminal
velocity of the ball due to ignoring some conditions like wind, direction of the ball and its change
of shape. We assume that theoretical calculations are wrong because we didn’t calculate the drag
coefficient but took the exact number from the literature that, of course, is not so accurate for our
experiment.
However, we are more likely to believe that the results we got from the real experiment are close
to the truth because they were not only accurately measured and recorded but were also
calculated by the computer. We also have to admit that these numbers are not completely right
due to the same reasons as in the theoretical calculations. Therefore, we have to conclude that
using the experiment method, we could find not the exact but very close to real terminal velocity
of the ball.
 6 Evaluation
Our experiment consisted of two parts and we were working on it for 5 days. We were reading the
materials about the drag force and the terminal velocity; we were gathering raw data and were also
preparing for the experiment. We even did some part of it in our house to make it more accurate as in
the physics lab would have more wind.

We are pleased with our lab report as we managed to set up a nice experiment with the meter rule
and also the Online Tracker app. It was our first time when we tried to use online simulation for the
physics research and we really did very well. We have learnt how to create a model, analyze the
graph and work with the data we gathered.

We also want to outline that we spent a lot of time recording the fall of the ball so we got the most
accurate picture of it. During the experiment we had to make sure that the camera was always in a
fixed position, ball was falling vertically downwards and that there was no force applied to it. We
have used a stand instead of a person to drop the ball, which will not bring external forces and will
reduce errors. In addition, a ruler was used to make sure that the height of the bracket was accurate.
We got a lot of experience working both with an online app and the video even though it took a lot of
time and efforts to learn how to use the online Tracker.

But at the same time, our experiment also had some cons. The first disadvantage was that when we
were measuring the falling distance and time of the ball, there was no way to ensure that the ball was
falling vertically without any force, and at the same time, the ball would rotate, resulting in
inaccurate experimental data. We were trying to avoid all these external factors but we lacked
proficient equipment.

The second disadvantage was that the results obtained from the experimental data are very different
from those obtained from the theoretical calculation. This, though, can be explained by the low drag
coefficient extracted from the literature, as we could not find it in this case, nor could we confirm it.

In our opinion, this series of disadvantages can be improved by using more sophisticated
experimental instruments and experimental sites, such as the use of dynamometer, velocimeter,
calculation of the drag coefficient at different stages, and comparison method.

In conclusion, we are pleased with the work we did even though we couldn’t find the exact value of
the terminal velocity. It was the first time we were using special app and the camera for the
experiment. We are delighted with the experience we obtained and the efforts we put in our lab
research.
7 Reference page

NASA. The Drag Coefficient. [Online; accessed 19. Nov. 2021]. May 2021. url:
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/dragco.html.
Tracker Video Analysis and Modeling Tool for Physics Education. [Online; accessed 15.
Oct.2021]. url: https://physlets.org/tracker.
Tsokos, K.A. Physics for the IB Diploma. Cambridge University Press, 2014.