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Phy 5

Free fall occurs when an object falls solely under the influence of gravity, accelerating at a rate of 9.8 m/s². This acceleration causes objects to increase their velocity by 9.8 m/s every second, although air resistance can affect the rate at which different objects fall. The document also discusses calculations related to the distance fallen and provides examples of stones dropped and thrown upward, illustrating the effects of free fall and air resistance.

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lilianna
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19 views10 pages

Phy 5

Free fall occurs when an object falls solely under the influence of gravity, accelerating at a rate of 9.8 m/s². This acceleration causes objects to increase their velocity by 9.8 m/s every second, although air resistance can affect the rate at which different objects fall. The document also discusses calculations related to the distance fallen and provides examples of stones dropped and thrown upward, illustrating the effects of free fall and air resistance.

Uploaded by

lilianna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Free fall

What is free fall?


 When an object falls freely under the effect of
gravity, it is said to be in free fall.
 Even as an object falls down, it is constantly
being pulled down by gravity.
 This causes it to fall faster and faster –
meaning, it accelerates!
Summary:
 Any object that falls freely under the effect of
gravity will accelerate during its fall - meaning;
it will fall faster and faster.
 This acceleration is called as acceleration of
free-fall or acceleration due to gravity.
 Value of acceleration of free fall ‘g’ = 9.8 m/s2
What does that mean?
 Objects falling down will accelerate at the rate
of 9.8 m/s2
 Their velocity will increase by 9.8 m/s every
second.
Case 1:
Stone released downward:
 When a stone is dropped downward, its initial
velocity is 0 m/s.
 As it falls, it gets accelerated due to free fall,
increasing its velocity by 9.8 m/s, every sec.
 Let’s give a + sign for downward fall.
Let’s enter this in a tabular column and plot a
velocity – time graph:

Time / s 0 1 2 3 4 5
Velocity 0 10 20 30 40 50
/ m /s

What calculations can we get from the graph?


Distance the stone falls = area under graph
= ½ bh
= ½ (5) (50) = 125 m
If all objects have the same acceleration of free
fall, then why do some objects fall faster than the
others? (Example - a stone hits the ground faster
than a feather)
 The reason is air resistance
 Air resistance is different for different objects, and

that causes the objects to slow down differently as


well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-
CfukEgs&t=193s&ab_channel=BBC
Speed – time graph for a stone falling without and
with air resistance:
Case 2:
Stone thrown upward:
 When a stone is thrown upward, it is given an
initial velocity (say -30 m/s, we will give a
‘–‘ sign for upward ‘velocity’)
 It is still acted upon by acceleration of free
fall, increasing its velocity by +10 m/s, every
second
 Let’s give a – sign for upward movement and
+ sign for downward fall.
Let’s enter this in a tabular column and plot a
velocity – time graph:

Time / s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Velocity -30 -20 -10 0 +10 +20 +30
/ m /s
What calculations can we get from the graph?
Upward height the stone goes = distance travelled
upward
= area of the graph
below x-axis
= ½ bh
= ½ (3) (30) = 45 m

Downward distance the stone falls =


= area of the graph
above x-axis
= ½ bh
= ½ (3) (30) = 45 m
Here, it is 3 seconds. After 3 seconds, the stone
starts falling down.
Reference Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4F5_gaquVY&ab_channel=T
heScienceAsylum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFhOygrDoM

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