Question

A spherical ball is dropped in a long column of a viscous liquid. The speed of the ball as a function of time may be best represented by the graph
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D

Answer 1

Correct option: (b)
Initially, when the ball starts moving, its velocity is small. Gradually, the velocity of the ball increases due to acceleration caused by gravity. However, as the velocity increases, the viscous force acting on the ball also increases. This force tends to decelerate the ball. Therefore, after reaching a certain maximum velocity, the ball slows down.