Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you must be able to:

· describe the motion of falling objects;

· determine the factors that affect the object’s rate

of fall;

· explain the concepts of acceleration due to

gravity;

· solve problems on uniformly accelerated motion

due to gravity; and

· discuss the terminal velocity of a falling body.

The Nature of Free Fall Motion

A freely falling body is a moving object such that the only force acting on it is the pull of gravity.
Gravity is measured as the amount of acceleration that the force gives on an object on Earth. This
acceleration due to gravity slightly varies at different parts of the earth but the accepted value of
acceleration to gravity, which is denoted by g, is

g = 980 cm/s^2 g = 9.8 m/s^2 g = 32 ft/s^2

If no air resistance is being applied, bodies falling freely will increase their speed 9.8 m/s2 in
every second of their fall, and the distance travelled per second also increases. Since a freely falling body
is uniformly accelerated, the formula for accelerated motion in rectilinear motion will be applied. The
acceleration will be the constant acceleration due to gravity, g.

Three Cases of Free fall

A. Bodies Dropped Downward:

B. Bodies Thrown Downward

In this case, the object has an initial velocity greater than zero, thus:

d = Vi t + ½ gt^2

Vf = Vi + gt

Vf^2 – Vi^2 = 2gd

C. Bodies Thrown Upward

You have to breakdown your solution into two parts:

1st - when the body is going upward

2nd - when the body is going downward

When the body is going up, g has a negative value, because it is decelerating up to the point where the
body will stop moving and start falling down. The point where the body stops moving up is the height
the object attains. In this case, velocity equals zero.
Formulas for Freely Falling Bodies:

if Vi (initial velocity) = 0

1. Vave = Vf + Vi 1. Vave = Vf

2 2

2. Vf = Vi + gt 2. Vf = gt

3. d = Vi .t + gt^2 3. d = gt^2

2 2

4. d = Vf^2 – Vi^2 4. d = Vf^2

2g 2g

Sample Problem 1:

Mark drops a ball from the top of the 100 m high building. Find

a.) the time the ball reaches the ground and

b.) the velocity it hits the ground.

Given: Vi = 0

d = 100 m

g = 9.8 m/s^2

Equation:

a) manipulating the formula: d = gt^2 to get t, we have

Solution:
Sample Problem 2:

A bullet was fired downward from the top of the cliff 120 m high and hits the cliff base 0.25 s later. What
was the bullet’s initial speed?

Given: Equation:

g = 9.8 m/s^2 d = Vit + ½ gt^2

d = 120 m Vi = d - (½gt^2 )

t = 0.25 sec t

Find: Vi =?

Solution:

Vi = (120 m) – [½ (9.8 m/s^2 )(0.25 s)]^2

0.25 s

Vi = (120 m) – (0.306 m)

0.25 s

Vi = 478.776 m/s

When you throw an object vertically upward, it is given an initial velocity and will eventually come
down. But though it is rising, it is acted upon by the pull of gravity. Since the pull of gravity is still acting
on it, the object will then fall back to the ground.

When the object is rising, it is moving in the opposite direction, its velocity is decreasing, where in the
object is decelerating. It follows that it has negative acceleration of 9.8 m/s 2 in every second.

Here’s an example of an object that is thrown vertically upward.

Sample Problem 3:

A baseball is thrown vertically up with an initial velocity of 50 m/s.

a. How high will the baseball rise?

b. How long will it remain in the air?

Given:

g = 9.8 m/s2 Find: a.) d

Vi = 50 m/s b.) tT

Equation:

a.) d = Vf 2 – Vi 2 b.) t = Vf – Vi

2g g

= 0 – (50 m/s)^2 t = 0 – 50 m/s

2(9.8 m/s^2 ) -9.8m/s^2

= - 2500 m^2 /s^2 t = 5.10 sec

-19.6 m/s^2

d = 127.55 m tT = 5.10 sec (2) = 10.20 sec.

Summing Up

The magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity

(g = 9.8 m/s2 ) is always a positive quantity. The sign of acceleration depends upon the choice of the
coordinate system.

The acceleration of all objects in free fall is the same, regardless of their mass.

Ø When air resistance is present, a falling object

accelerates only until it reaches its terminal speed.

Ø At terminal speed, the force of the air resistance

balances the force of gravity.

Important formulas:

d = Vit + ½ gt^2 where: g = 9.8 m/s^2

Vf = Vi + gt

Vf^2 – Vi^2 = 2gd