- What happens to a raindrop as it falls?
- What happens to water that falls down to earth?
- How long does it take for a raindrop to hit the ground?
- What causes a raindrop to fall to the Earth?
- What happens to raindrops as they get bigger?
- How does gravity affect the speed of a raindrop?
- How big are rain drops when they fall?
What happens to a raindrop as it falls?
As the raindrop falls, it loses that rounded shape. The raindrop becomes more like the top half of a hamburger bun. Flattened on the bottom and with a curved dome top, raindrops are anything but the classic tear shape. The reason is due to their speed falling through the atmosphere.
What happens to water that falls down to earth?
Precipitation that falls onto land flows into rivers, streams, and lakes. Some of it seeps into the soil where it is held underground as groundwater. When warmed by the sun, water on the surface of oceans and freshwater bodies evaporates, forming a vapor. It then falls back to the ground as precipitation.
How long does it take for a raindrop to hit the ground?
2 minutes
Its difficult to give an exact figure as the height at which raindrops fall and their size vary widely, but given that raindrops fall at an average speed of around 14 mph and assuming a cloud base height of around 2,500 feet, a raindrop would take just over 2 minutes to reach the ground.
What causes a raindrop to fall to the Earth?
When a raindrop falls to the surface of the Earth, it is acted on by two main forces, gravity and drag. A stationary raindrop initially experiences an acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s 2, as would any falling body.
What happens to raindrops as they get bigger?
The bigger the raindrop, the faster it falls, and the more it is affected by air pushing against its bottom. Drops that grow larger than 4.5 millimeters (about three-sixteenths of an inch) become distorted into a parachute-shape as they fall, and then eventually they break up into smaller drops. Measuring Raindrops from Space
How does gravity affect the speed of a raindrop?
A stationary raindrop initially experiences an acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s2, as would any falling body. As gravity increases the speed of the raindrop in its descent, drag retards the downward acceleration of the raindrop.
How big are rain drops when they fall?
Drops that are 2 to 3 millimeters (just under one-eighth of an inch) in size are big enough to be affected by air pushing against them as they fall.