Rain Droplet question?

Question

Describe the motion of the falling raindrop before it reaches its final speed.
Thanks to everyone who answers...it will help me so much

Answer 1

There are 2 main forces acting on the rain droplet: gravity and air resistance. Air resistance is relatively small at slow speeds, so for the beginning of the fall, the droplet will fall at approximately a constant rate of acceleration (as if gravity was the only force acting on it). If I remember correctly, air resistance is proportional to speed. The force from air resistance increases as the speed of the droplet increases, so the acceleration of the droplet will decrease until the droplet is traveling at a constant velocity.

Answer 2

Excellent question. Raindrops in free-fall are often depicted as teardrop-shaped. In fact, raindrops with diameters larger than 2mm are flattened on their undersides and gradually change in shape from spherical to jellyfish-shaped. Their typical size is 1 - 2 mm.

Paul Rincon in a BBC report wrote "Scientists have observed the biggest raindrops recorded on Earth - which may be a whopping 1cm in size. The monster water droplets were observed from the air, by atmospheric experts studying clouds.

They were recorded over Brazil and the Marshall Islands, a group of atolls and reefs in the central Pacific Ocean.

US scientists report in Geophysical Research Letters that a large fire may have influenced the formation of the huge raindrops recorded over Brazil.

"They are the biggest raindrops I have seen in 30 years of flying," Professor Peter Hobbs, co-author of the report told BBC News Online.

Professor Hobbs and colleague Arthur Rangno, of the University of Washington, US, recorded the droplets as being about 8.8mm and possibly as large as 1cm. He speculated that some of these giant droplets even reach the ground."

Answer 3

All I know is that rain drops are never in the shape of a tear drop, they are falling in a flat circle...at least that's what what my teacher just said.