Question

Discuss mation of an object under free fall. Neglect air resistence.

Answer 1

We know it starts from a rest position, and gains speed as it falls. We know this because it would be safe to catch it if it fell a meter or two. However, we would not be wise to try to catch it if it fell from the top of a tall building. Therefore we see that the stone must gain more speed during the time it drops from a building that during the shorter time it takes to drop a meter. This gain in speed indicates that the stone does accelerate as it falls.

Gravitation causes the stone to fall downward once it is dropped. In real-life, air resistance affects the acceleration of a falling object. Let's imagine that there is no air resistance and gravity is the only thing that affects a falling object. Such an object would then be in free fall. Freely falling objects are solely under the influence of gravity. The acceleration of an object under conditions where air resistance is negligible is about 9.81 meters per second squared. The variable used to represent acceleration due to gravity is: g. And because acceleration is a vector quantity is must include direction. Acceleration due to gravity at sea level on Earth is 9.81 meters per second squared downward ... always.