What happens to an object's velocity as it approaches terminal velocity?

As an object falls through a fluid, such as air, it encounters resistance known as drag. Initially, the object's velocity increases as it accelerates due to the force of gravity. However, as the object speeds up, the drag force increases until it balances out the gravitational force acting on the object. At this point, the net force acting on the object becomes zero, leading to no further acceleration.

When this balance is achieved, the velocity of the object reaches a constant value known as terminal velocity. At terminal velocity, the forces acting on the object — gravity and drag — are equal in magnitude, resulting in a constant speed. This means the object will continue to fall at this steady speed rather than accelerate further, illustrating the concept of terminal velocity effectively.