Final answer:
The student must use Stokes' Law to find the viscosity of motor oil by utilizing the terminal velocity and densities of the steel ball and the oil. The viscosity is crucial for engineering applications where lubrication efficiency under various temperatures is important.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves the concept of viscosity, which is a measure of a fluid's resistance to flow. In the context of the problem, the student is asked to calculate the viscosity of motor oil by observing the terminal velocity of a steel ball falling through the fluid. This application is critical in fields such as engineering and material science, where understanding the flow characteristics of fluids like motor oils under various conditions is important for effective lubrication and machinery maintenance.
To find the oil's viscosity, one can use a version of Stokes' Law, which relates the drag force experienced by a spherical particle moving through a fluid with its radius, the fluid's viscosity, and the velocity of the particle. Given the density of the steel ball, the density of oil, and the terminal speed, we can rearrange Stokes' Law to solve for the viscosity of the motor oil.