Ima

Definition:

Air resistance is a force that slows things down when they move through air.

Ev.

Main Points

• Air resistance is a type of friction.

• It always acts in the opposite direction of movement.

• Things that move faster feel more air resistance.

• Flat or wide objects feel more air resistance.

• Smooth or thin objects feel less.

Interesting points:

1. Air is invisible, but it can still push back strongly when things move fast.

2. That’s why cars, planes, and rockets are shaped to cut through air smoothly.

3. A feather falls slowly because it has lots of air resistance.

4. A stone falls faster because it has little air resistance.

5. When you stick your hand out of a moving car (carefully!), you can feel air pushing back—that’s air resistance.

6. Air resistance increases with speed—the faster you go, the stronger the push-back.

7. Birds and airplanes use streamlined shapes to reduce air resistance and fly easier.

8. Parachutes use maximum air resistance to slow people down safely.

9. Cyclists sometimes wear tight clothes to reduce air resistance and go faster.

10. Even raindrops get slowed down by air resistance, so they don’t hurt when they fall!

Fun Fact:

A feather and a hammer fall at the same speed on the Moon because there is no air → no air resistance!