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if one wants to verify or test for an exponential decay the time
honored way is to plot the logarithm of the speed (or frequency) vs.
time (or equivalently, make a semi-log-scaled graph). If the graph
is adequately represented as a straight line then the decay is
exponential, and the intercept gives the logarithm of the initial
speed/frequency, while the negative of the slope gives the decay
rate.
OTOH, if one wants to test for or verify a quadratic velocity
dissipative decay, the time honored way is to plot the *reciprocal*
of the speed (or frequency) vs time. If the dissipative forces are
quadratic in the velocity the plot will again be a straight line with
the intercept giving the reciprocal of the initial speed and the
slope giving the quadratic decay constant.