Question

Common terns hover in a stationary position over the ocean watching for a tasty fish. When they see one, they immediately stop their wings and simply free-fall into the ocean to catch the fish. Calculate how long a fish near the surface has to move away after the instant a tern sees it from a height of 3 m above the surface. Repeat Problem above, but now include air resistance. Assume a ball of 3 cm radius with an average density of 4400 kg/m 3 , a density of air of 1.3 kg/m 3 , and a value of C = 1.

Answer 1

The macroscopic objects falling under free fall would be considered to move with no net acceleration, i.e., a = 0.