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Grade 11Mechanics

The longer the board and the shallower the water, the farther will a surfboard skim across the water. Explain. (See The Surf Skimmer, by R. D. Edge, American Journal of Physics, July 1968, p. 630.)

Profile image of Radhika Batra
11 Years agoGrade 11
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1 Answer

Profile image of Kevin Nash
11 Years ago
The shallow water exerts less pressure to the board. Thus, the pressure difference just above the surfboard and below the water us also less. The lift force acting on the board is pressure times the area of the board. A longer board has less cross-sectional area. The effect is that the lift force acting on the board is less. This makes the board to offer less resistance. Therefore, the surfboard skim can move farther across the water.