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AP Physics C: Mechanics
2.9 Resistive Forces
2.5 Newton’s Second Law
IntermediateMCQMathematicalProportional AnalysisConceptual19k
Forces acting on an object falling with drag.
Forces acting on an object falling with drag.
An object of mass \(m\) is released from rest at time \(t = 0\) and falls vertically through a fluid that exerts a resistive force of magnitude \(F_d = bv\), where \(b\) is a positive constant and \(v\) is the speed of the object.

The downward speed of the object as a function of time \(t\) is given by
\[ v(t) = \dfrac{mg}{b}\left(1 - e^{-\frac{bt}{m}}\right) \]
where \(g\) is the acceleration due to gravity.

Which of the following correctly describes the limiting behavior of the speed \(v(t)\) as \(b \to 0\) at a fixed time \(t\), and the acceleration \(a(t)\) as \(t \to \infty\)?

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