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What Happens When an Object is in Free Fall?
An object in free fall is under the influence of gravity. The acceleration due to gravity of planet Earth is -9.8 m/s^2 or -32.2 ft/s^2. Therefore, an object in free fall will experience an a downward acceleration of -9.8 m/s^2 in the absence of air resistance. The vertical velocity of the object will decrease by 9.8 m/s every second. In two seconds, the vertical velocity will decrease (or become more negative) by 19.6 m/s. An Important Concept to Understand: Even though the vertical velocity is decreasing by 9.8 m/s every second, the speed is increasing by 9.8 m/s every second. Speed is always positive, but velocity can be positive or negative depending on the direction of the object. As the vertical velocity of the free-falling object decreases from 0 to -9.8 m/s to -19.6 m/s to -29.4 m/s per second, the speed of the object is increasing form 0 to +9.8 m/s to +19.6 m/s to +29.4 m/s per second. 
The Meaning of the Variables In The Free Fall Equations: Vf represents the final velocity and Vo represents the initial velocity. g is the acceleration due to gravity which is -9.8 m/s^2. t is the time which is usually in seconds. Introduction to Acceleration and Velocity: www.video-tutor.net/acceleration-and-velocity.html Kinematics In One Dimension: https://www.video-tutor.net/kinematics-one-dimension.html Motion Time Graphs - Velocity Time Graphs: www.video-tutor.net/motion-time-graphs.html |
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