Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-and-computational-biology-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/paper-2/7/b/solution

First convert the dynamic viscosity to SI units:
Using the stipulated effective-size version of Stokes's law with , the drag coefficient is
The speed is , hence
The drag acts opposite the velocity. Its magnitude is about times smaller than the substrate force in (a); balancing surrounding-fluid drag alone therefore cannot account for the much larger substrate traction. The calculation uses the size parameter exactly as supplied. An exact drag calculation for a cube moving close to a wall would need geometry and boundary corrections beyond this stipulated approximation.

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