Free Fall Quiz

To master the concept of free fall, it’s essential to understand the fundamental principles governing the motion of an object under the influence of gravity alone. Free fall occurs when an object is dropped from a height and is only affected by gravitational pull, with no other forces acting upon it, such as air resistance. In a vacuum, all objects, regardless of their mass, will fall at the same rate due to the acceleration caused by gravity, which is approximately 9.81 m/s² on Earth. This means that the distance an object falls increases with the square of the time it has been falling. To calculate the distance fallen, you can use the formula: d = 0.5 * g * t², where d is the distance, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and t is the time in seconds.


Another critical aspect of free fall is understanding the concepts of terminal velocity and the effects of air resistance. While free fall ideally assumes no air resistance, in real-world scenarios, objects will eventually reach a terminal velocity where the force of gravity is balanced by the drag force of the air. This results in a constant speed for the falling object. It’s important to differentiate between free fall and projectile motion; while both involve the influence of gravity, projectile motion also includes horizontal motion. To solidify your understanding, practice solving problems that involve calculating the time of fall, final velocity, and distance fallen for various objects, and consider the effects of air resistance in different scenarios.