As explained in the chapter, the air resistance to motion of a vehicle is determined exp...

As explained in the chapter, the air resistance to motion of a vehicle is determined experimentally by placing it in a wind tunnel. The air speed inside the tunnel is changed, and the drag force acting on the vehicle is measured. The experimental data is normally represented by a single coefficient that is called the drag coefficient. It is defined by the following relationship:

It was also explained in this chapter that the frontal area A is the frontal projection of the area, and could be approximated simply by multiplying 0.85 times the width and the height of a rectangle that outlines the front of a vehicle when you view it from a direction normal to the front windshield. The 0.85 factor is to adjust for rounded corners, open space below the bumper, and so on. Typical drag coefficient values for sports cars are between 0.27 and 0.38, and for sedans the values are between 0.34 and 0.5. This assignment requires you to actually measure the frontal area of a car. Tape a ruler or a yardstick to the bumper of your car. The ruler will serve as a scale. Take a photograph of the car and use any of the methods discussed in this chapter to compute the frontal area of the car.