Projectiles, such as the ones shot from cannons, are affected by drag or air resistance. The amount of drag exerted on to an object is affected by many different factors, such as air density and the size of the projectile. It is important to understand drag, as it affects the distance an object is able to travel if it is not influenced by outside forces, such as a cannons projectile. The equation for drag is shown below.
F=pCA/2 v^2 p = The density of the air.
C = The drag coefficient of the projectile.
A = The area of the object that the air presses on. v = The velocity of the projectile.
The drag equation returns a force as newtons of energy. For example, p = 1.225 kg/m3 (the density of air)
C = 0.5 (the drag of a sphere)
A = 0.5 m2 (the surface area of a sphere) v = 10 m/s (the initial velocity of the sphere)
F=(1.225*0.5*0.5)/2*〖10〗^2
F=0.30625/2*〖10〗^2
F=15.3125N
Changing one of these values can have a drastic effect on the amount …show more content…
x^number
Because both trend lines fit as well as they do, part of the air resistance equation has to contain either a power or an exponential equation in it. It is clearly not the first part of the equation as this always returns a constant number as none of these values change as the projectile flies through the air. pCA/2 No matter how often the equation gets run, this number will never change. However, the same cannot be said for the final part of the equation. v^2 As the projectile flies through the air, the velocity is constantly changing meaning it is due to v^2 that the data in figure 1 and 2 changes in the way it does. When v^2 is compared to the equations for an exponential trend and a power trend it is clear that it is the same as x^number, meaning that it will form a power trend. For this reason, it would make sense to use the power trend line in figure 2 to best describe the
F=pCA/2 v^2 p = The density of the air.
C = The drag coefficient of the projectile.
A = The area of the object that the air presses on. v = The velocity of the projectile.
The drag equation returns a force as newtons of energy. For example, p = 1.225 kg/m3 (the density of air)
C = 0.5 (the drag of a sphere)
A = 0.5 m2 (the surface area of a sphere) v = 10 m/s (the initial velocity of the sphere)
F=(1.225*0.5*0.5)/2*〖10〗^2
F=0.30625/2*〖10〗^2
F=15.3125N
Changing one of these values can have a drastic effect on the amount …show more content…
x^number
Because both trend lines fit as well as they do, part of the air resistance equation has to contain either a power or an exponential equation in it. It is clearly not the first part of the equation as this always returns a constant number as none of these values change as the projectile flies through the air. pCA/2 No matter how often the equation gets run, this number will never change. However, the same cannot be said for the final part of the equation. v^2 As the projectile flies through the air, the velocity is constantly changing meaning it is due to v^2 that the data in figure 1 and 2 changes in the way it does. When v^2 is compared to the equations for an exponential trend and a power trend it is clear that it is the same as x^number, meaning that it will form a power trend. For this reason, it would make sense to use the power trend line in figure 2 to best describe the