Free Fall Post-Activity
Free Fall - falling under the influence of gravity only (no air resistance)
1. Since the motion of the object in free fall is uniformly accelerated, what is
that uniform acceleration?

g  9.8 m
s
2
 Accelerati on due to gravity (Free Fall accelerati on)
Near the surface of the Earth
The freely falling object' s velocity increases 9.8 m for every second it falls.
s
Free Fall
Acceleration
Free Fall Post-Activity
Free Fall - falling under the influence of gravity only (no air resistance)
3. What is the relationship between the mass of an object in free fall and its
acceleration.
 s

am
Galileo’s Law of Falling Bodies – In a vacuum, all
objects fall with the same, uniform
acceleration regardless of mass.
2
m g 
Free Fall
Acceleration
Feather and Penny Demo
Free Fall Post-Activity
Since Free Fall is uniformly accelerated motion, the kinematic equations apply.
Kinematic Equations (Free Fall Versions)
 

1 v  vo  gt
 
1  
2 y  yo  v  vo t
2
 

12
3 y  yo  vot  gt
2
2 2
  
4 v  vo  2 g  y  yo 

Notice that all horizontal positions  x  are replaced with


vertical positions  y , and that all accelerati ons a  are

replaced with the Free Fall accelerati on  g  9.8 m 2 

s 