As shown in Figure 6.4.

the slope of a curved line is defined at any point by the slope of the line
tangent to the curve at the point. The value of this slope corresponds to the magnitude of the
instantaneous velocities.

Acceleration may also be described as the slope of the graph of velocity against time. In Figure
6.5, the portion between times t 1 and t2 shows a body moving at a constant velocity, the graph is a
straight line with zero slope therefore acceleration is zero. Between t2 and t3 the velocity
increases uniformly, the graph is a straight line, the slope is constant and positive thus,
acceleration is positive. Between t3 and t4 the velocity decreases uniformly, the graph is a straight
line, the slope is constant and negative thus, acceleration is negative. Negative acceleration is
also known as deceleration. Between t4 and t5, the change in velocity is not constant the graph is
a curved line, thus, the acceleration is not constant.
MODULE 7 MOTION OF FALLING OBJECTS

Which is safer to catch, a stone dropped from the tip of two-meter pole or from the 5 floor of the
building? At each succeeding second of fall, the speed of a falling stone increases by approximately 10
m/s. this gain in speed per second is the acceleration. Thus, the stone dropped a higher level (in this case,
the 5th floor of a building) can gain more speed as it falls than the that is dropped from a lower level (the
tip of a two-meter pole wherein the time it takes to shorter. Therefore, it is safer to catch stone that is
dropped from a lower level.

This is what this module is about-the basic concepts of free fall. It discusses the motioning bodies
and the bodies and the factors that affect their rate of fall.

7.1 FALLING OBJECTS round, therefore, falling down moving toward

the center of the earth.
What goes up must come down. It is a
common observation that when you toss a coin The mango falls down because it is by
up, it will come down? Which way is up? Which the earth. The mango is moving town center of
way is down? the earth.

When we say, “something is falling we

mean, it is falling toward ground the earth is

We know that, if an object is held above

the ground and released, it would fall toward the
ground due to the gravitational attraction with a water clock (Figure 7.3). he was able to
between the earth and the object. The earth’s observe that, in the absence of air resistance,
gravitational force keeps us and everything else heavy and light objects will friction, a moving
on earth in place and prevents us from floating object will maintain its motion unless acted
in space. upon by a retarding force.

In the late 16th century, it was generally You can perform an equivalent
believed that heavier objects would fall faster experiment by using a notebook and a sheet of
than lighter ones. But Galileo (1564-1642) paper (see Figure 7.4). hold a notebook and
thought differently about this idea. He sheet of paper at equal heights from the floor an
hypothesized that two objects would fall at the drop them simultaneously. Which falls faster?
same rate regardless of their mass. Now, repeat the experiment, but this time,
crumple the paper in a ball. How do the results
His work on falling objects is an differ?
important early study of how nature works. It
illustrates the modern view of how one should In the first case, the notebook fell faster
arrive at scientific conclusions. His work is an than the sheet of paper. The second case shows
example of what is known as scientific method. that in the absence of (or with negligible) air
resistance, two objects would fall at the same
The famous story about Galileo rate, regardless of their weights.
dropping two different objects from the Tower
of Pisa and observing them fall and reach the Galileo further deduced from his
ground at the same time is almost certainly a observation that time of fall increases as height
legend. Given the height of the Tower of Pisa, of fall increases. He also realized that his
the two objects will not reach the ground at the experiment showed how air resistance affects
same time due to the effects of air resistance. the acceleration of a falling object (on Earth). If
there is no air resistance and gravity is the only
In his experiment, Galileo measured the thing that affects a falling object, such an object
speed of falling objects by allowing metal balls is said to be in free fall.
to roll down an inclined plane and timing them
 Similarly, a coin will fall faster than a feather when dropped simultaneously from the same height
because of air resistance. However, when both objects are dropped in a container with a good partial
vacuum, where the air resistance is negligible, the faster and the coin will fall at the same rate with
constant acceleration.

7.2 FREE FALL

When an object is dropped, the object starts from rest and gains speed as it falls. This gain in
speed indicates that the object accelerates as it falls because of gravity, g.

Christain Huygens, who invented the pendulum clock in 1656, was the first measure g. He
showed that g could be calculated from the swing of the pendulum using only a ruler and a good
timepiece.

In general, the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity decreases as you move farther from
the center of the earth: 9.7804 m/s 2 at the equator and 9.8321 m/s 2 at the North and South poles. The
International Bureau of Weights and Measures has adopted 9.80665 m/s 2 as the standard value of g. Thus,
for practical purpose, the value of g is 9.80 m/s2 or approximately 10 m/s2.

Figure 7.6 shows the position and velocities at 1-second intervals of a falling mango.

Assuming no air resistance, all problems involving motion of falling objects can be solved by
using the equations for accelerated motion.
 The displacement of falling object given period of time is computed by the equations:
gt2
d= v1 t +
2
The final velocity of falling objects can be calculated by the equations:

vf 2 = v i 2 + 2gd
vf = v i + gt

Sample Problem 1

The time a male bungee jumper is freely falling is 1.5 seconds

a. What is the velocity if the jumper at the end of 1.5 seconds?

b. How far does he fall?

Given: vi = 0 (jumper starts from rest)

t = 1.5s
g = 9.8 m/s2
Find: a. vf b. d
Solution:
a. vf = v I + gt
= 0 + (9.8 m/s2)(1.5s)
vf = 14.7 m/s or 15 m/s
gt2
b. d= v i t + 2
1
= 0 + 2 (9.8 m/s2)(1.5s)2
1
= 0 + 2 (9.8 m/s2)(2.25s2)

d= 11.025 m or 11 m

Although we speak of falling objects, objects in upward motion experience the same free fall
acceleration. Look at the Figure 7.8 above. The velocity decreases as the objects rises until its velocity
momentarily becomes zero as it reaches the maximum height and then falls back toward the earth with
increasing velocity.
 The up and down travel of an object is symmetrical in space and time around the maximum
height reached. This means that if air resistance is neglected, the objects will move with the same speed at
the same height, whether it is on its way up or down.

Sample Problem 2

A juggle tosses three balls alternately vertically upward. Each ball has an initial velocity of 5 m/s.
how high does each ball rise? How long does each ball remain in the air?

Given: v i = 5 m/s

g = 9.8 m/s2 (upward)

Find: a.d

b.tT

Solution:

a. At the highest point of the path of the ball, v f = 0. Thus,

v f 2 = v i 2 + 2gd
0 = v i 2 + 2gd

d = - vi 2
2g
-
(5 m/s)2
= 2(-9.8 m/s)2
25 m2/s2
= 19.6 m/s2

d = 1.28 m
 b. The time to rise is half the total time
TT = 2t (up)
vf–vi
=2 g
0 – 5 m/s
=2 -
9.8 m/s2

= 2 (o.51s)

tT = 1.02s
7.3 TERMINAL VELOCITY
Terminal velocity is the maximum velocity attainted by an object through a fluid. It occurs when
the drag force balances the gravitational force on the object. At this instance, the object has reached its
limiting velocity and can no longer accelerate.

The fact that the falling objects do reach a terminal velocity is indeed a fortunate circumstance for
us. Do you know how skydivers manage to land safety?

If a skydiver jumps from a plane and fall freely before opening the parachute, a terminal velocity
of 105 m/s could be attained. When spread-eagled, the terminal velocity is reduce to about 54 m/s, and the
terminal velocity is only 6 m/s with open parachute which enables the skydiver to land safety.

In the absence of air resistance, a raindrop falling from an altitude of 100m would acquire a
velocity of about 140 m/s by the time it reached the ground level. The impact of this on a person would be
great enough to cause physical harm or enormous damage.

MODULE 8 PROJECTILE MOTION

 This module is about the motion of a projectile an object thrown with an initial horizontal
velocity and acted upon by earth’s pull of gravity.

8.1 MOTION OF A PROJECTILE

Have you noticed how a basketball player makes a three-points score? How would your trace the
path the ball goes? The ball is thrown with an initial velocity and travels a curved path.

An object thrown with an initial horizontal velocity and acted upon by the earth’s pull of gravity
is known as a projectile. A projectile travels in a curved path called the trajectory.

Try this activity and analyze the motion of freely falling body and a projectile.

8.2 HORIZONTAL PROJECTIONS

The velocity of a projectile can be separated into horizontal and vertical components. The vertical
components (v y) varies while the horizontal components (v x) is constant. The actual velocity (v R) is
represented by the resultant vectors that form the diagonal of the rectangle formed by the vertical and
horizontal components.

V R2 = Vx2 + Vy2
V R = Vx2 + Vy2

The maximum height (d y) and the horizontal distance (d x) can be calculated by using the formula for a
freely falling body and that for constant speed motion, respectively. Thus,

gt2
dy = and d x = v x ● t where t, here, is the total time of flight.
2

Sample Problem

Anton claims that he can throw a dart at a dartboard from a distance of 2.0 m and hit the 5.0-cm
wide bull’s-eye if he throws the dart horizontally with a speed of 20 m/s. He starts the throw at the same
height as the top of the bull’s-eye. Will Anton hit the bull’s-eye?

Given: d x = 2.0m

v i = 20 m/s

Find: dy

Solution: d x = vx ● t

Solving for t, we have

dx 2.0 m
t = v = 20 m/s = 0.1 s
i

Now that we have determined t (which is the same time it will take to cover d y), we can now
solve for d y.
gt2
dy = 2
(9.8 m/s2)(0.1 s)2
= 2
(9.8 m/s2)(0.01 s)2
=
2
d y = 0.049 m or 4.9 cm

Anton will hit the bull’s eye.

The flight of a projectile can be described in terms of its horizontal and vertical components. So
when solving projectile motion problems. So when solving projectile motion problems, the first task is to
resolve the velocity of the projectile into its horizontal and vertical components. Then the components are
treated separately.

8.3 PROJECTIONS AT ARBITRARY ANGLES

When a projectile is fired with a initial velocity (v i) at an angle θ above the horizontal (Figure
8.3), the initial velocity can be resolved into its rectangular components. That is,

v i = v i cos θ
X

v i = v i sin θ
y

projectile always experience a constant vertical acceleration due to the pull of gravity (g = 9.8
m/s2) as the rice and fall. Hence, the vertical displacement (d y) and the vertical velocity (v y) can be
solved by using the formula for uniformly accelerated motion.
gt2
Where d y = vy i 2 +
v fy 2 – v iy 2
2g
d y=

Hence
vf y = vyi + gt.
As the projectile rises, it decreases its vertical velocity and, at the peak of the trajectory, it
becomes zero. Thus, the time for a projectile to rise can be solved by the equation,

v f = v i - gt
y y

where y vf=0
0 = v i – gty

v iy
g
Thus t=
t= v i sin θ
g
For a projectile beginning and ending at the same height, the time it takes to rise to its highest
point is equal to the time it takes to fall from the highest point takes to fall from the highest point back to
the original point of projection.
 To find the total time (tı) of flight that a projectile is in the air, simply double the time it takes a
projectile to rise.

tI = 2t
2viy
=
g

tI = 2vi sin θ
g

The maximum height (dy) can be calculated by considering the downward motion of a projectile,
wherein v i = 0 (from the peak).
y

gt2
d y = vit + 2
gt 2
=0+
2
2
1 Viy
= 2g g
2
= 1 g (v i sin θ)
2 g2
(v i sin θ)2
d y=
2g

The horizontal displacement known as the range (R) of the projectile is the product of the
horizontal velocity and the total time of flight.

R = v i ● tI
2v i sin θ
= (v i cos θ)
g
2
= v i cos θ sin θ
g
since sin 2θ = 2 cos θ sin θ,
v i2 sin 2θ
R= g

Sample Problem
A long jumper leaves the ground at an angle of 30% to the horizontal and at a speed of 6
m/s. how far does jump?

Given: θ = 30o
v i = 6 m/s

Find: d x or R

Solution:
dx = vx ● tI
 Find the value of tI.
tI = 2v sin θ
i

g o
= 2(6.0 m/s)(sin2 30 )
9.8 m/s
2(6.0 m/s)(0.5)
= 9.8 m/s2

tI = 0.61 s

Substituting tI to the equation

dx = v i ● tI
= (v i cos θ) tI

= (6.0 m/s)(cos 30o)(0.61s)

= (6.0 m/s)(0.87)(0.61s)

dx = 3.18 m

or vi2 sin 2θ
R= g
(6.0 m/s)2 (sin 60o)
=
9.8 m/s2
(36 m2/s2)(0.87)
= 9.8 m/s2
31.32 m2/s2
=
9.8 m/s2

R = 3.20 m

Projectile thrown with the same speed at different projection angles will have different altitudes
and ranges (see Figure 8.5).
An object thrown into the air at 60 o angle projection will have the same range as when it is
thrown at an angle of 30o. Similarly, an object thrown at an 80o, 70o, 60o and 50o angle will have the same
range as when it is thrown at an angle of 10o, 20o, 30o and 40o, respectively.
The maximum range obtained is a 45o angle projection. However, in sports in which the weight of
the projectile is significant in comparison to the force of the projection, the applied force does not
produce the same velocity for different projection angles, thus the maximum range occurs for angles less
than 45o.
In the presence of air resistance (Figure 8.6). the trajectory of a high speed projectile falls short of
a parabolic path.