Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford / 2015 resit / 8 / a

For superterminal descent under quadratic drag, use $\dot{v}=vdv/dz$ in $\dot{v}=b(v_t^2-v^2)$. Equivalently,The speed approaches $v_t$ asymptotically from above. There is no finite exact distance at which it first equals the limiting speed. A practical estimate must specify an accuracy. Define “reached” as $v\le (1+ϵ)v_t$. ThenFor one-percent accuracy, $ϵ=0.01$ givesA five-percent criterion gives $z_{5\%}\simeq 0.642\mathrm{m}$. The characteristic decay length of the excess squared speed is $1/(2b)\simeq 0.0952\mathrm{m}$, but several such lengths are needed because the entry speed is so far above the limiting value. These estimates depend on the stated water-entry idealization; the source gives no finite tolerance or entry-loss model.