Home › AP Physics C: Mechanics › Physics › Friction, Drag, and Elasticity › A small squirrel falls from a 5 meter tree branc…
A small squirrel falls from a 5 meter tree branch and walks away unhurt, while a human falling the same height risks a broken bone. What does the source's discussion of drag and size say explains this difference?
AThe squirrel is so small that air resistance matters far more relative to its weight
BThe squirrel weighs more per unit of surface area than a human does
CAir resistance affects only large animals, not small ones
DThe squirrel does not experience any gravitational force at this height
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. The squirrel is so small that air resistance matters far more relative to its weight
1. A small animal's weight shrinks much faster than its surface area as its size decreases.
2. Because drag depends on surface area while weight depends on volume, small animals face proportionally more air resistance relative to their weight.
3. That extra relative resistance lets a squirrel approach a survivable terminal velocity over a very short fall.
4. This has nothing to do with squirrels losing weight per area or being exempt from gravity, since gravity acts on every falling object regardless of size.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 5 "Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity", section 5.2 Drag Forces_
Related questions
According to the source, at roughly what point in life does the gradual physiological reduIf human arteries were rigid instead of elastic, what would you notice about your pulse, aA human tendon shows a nonlinear stress-strain curve. What does the source call the very fWhat example does the source give of a practical application of bulk compression on solidsUnlike most materials, what unusual behavior does water show when it freezes, according toAt a depth of 5.00 km in the ocean, the force per unit area on seawater is 5.00 times ten It is relatively easy to compress a gas but extremely difficult to compress a liquid or a What does the source say about the shear moduli of liquids and gases?