When a spherical ball is dropped into a long column of a viscous liquid, its speed as a function of time is best represented by the graph

Step-by-step solution

When a spherical ball is dropped into a long column of a viscous liquid, its initial velocity is zero. The forces acting on the ball are its weight acting downwards, the buoyant force acting upwards, and the viscous drag force acting upwards. The net downward force is given by: F_ net = W - F_B - F_v According to Stokes' law, the viscous drag force is proportional to the velocity of the ball ( F_v = 6 r v ). As the velocity of the ball increases, the viscous drag force also increases, which causes the net downward