A hail storm caused nearly golf-ball sized hail to fall on a house. The hailstones were nearly spherical, with a diameter of roughly 3.7 cm and a weight of 24 g.
a. Draw a free body diagram of the hailstone falling through quiescent air.
b. Using the chart in the book for the drag coefficient on a sphere, determine the terminal velocity of a hailstone. You will need to find this iteratively, by guessing a velocity, calculating the drag coefficient for that velocity, then calculating a new velocity based on your FBD. Then guess a new velocity and repeat.
c. Would the terminal velocity be faster or slower if the hailstone were smaller?
d. Draw a bar chart of the mechanical energy of the hailstone at four points after it has fully formed (no longer changing mass) (1) when it is accelerating, (2) once it reaches terminal velocity, (3) after it has fallen somewhat at terminal velocity, (4) just before it impacts the ground (or the roof, unfortunately!).
e. What is the kinetic energy of this hailstone when it impacts the roof?