Does the shape of an object affect its movement in a liquid?

Can you run better in air than water? Why is this? It is harder to run in water because of a force called water resistance. Water resistance slows objects down as they move through water and is similar to air resistance as objects travel through air. It is the force of water which pushes back against an object moving through it. Boats, submarines and any other objects which travel through water are affected by water resistance, even fish! The shape of the object is what determines the amount of water resistance. The more streamlined the object is, the less resistance it has. We can illustrate this by drawing a force diagram.

This is a video of a similar experiment to the one we are completing in class. www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zxqd7ty

Homework: Please learn to spell these force words. You will need them for our end of topic assessment:- friction, air resistance, water resistance, upthrust and gravity.