Objectives:

• At the end of the lesson you will be

able to define what is free fall
• Differentiate the theories of Aristotle
and Galileo regarding free fall.
• the motion of the body solely influenced
by the pull of gravity
• one dimensional motion along the vertical
• when an object is dropped, the object
starts from rest and gains speed as it falls
• the object accelerates as it falls because
of gravity (always downward) Waterfalls
• all free-falling objects (on earth)
accelerate downwards at a rate of
approximately 9.8 m/s2 (Christopher Huygens:pendulum)

Falling leaves Skydiving

Raindrops
1. Heavy objects will fall faster than
lighter ones.
2. Objects will fall faster in air than in
water.
3. The fall of an object towards the
earth is a natural motion because it
is just returning to its natural place.
4. Sometimes, objects move away from
their natural place due to an external
force called violent motion.
1. Both heavy and light objects will fall
at the same time/rate when released
from the same height.
2. The weight of a falling object does
not affect the speed of its fall.
3. The speed of a falling object is
uniformly accelerated due to gravity.
4. The effect of air resistance is
dependent on the size, shape,
surface area and density of a falling
object.
 “In the absence of air resistance,
both heavy and light objects will fall
at the same rate when released at the
same time. “
•called “drag” or “air friction”
•slows down the movement of a falling object
Ball and feather
(with air
resistance)

Ball and feather

(without air
vacuum resistance)
• in the absence of air resistance, heavy and light
objects will fall at the same time
• in the absence of friction, a moving object will
maintain its motion unless acted upon by a
retarding force
• the time of fall increases as the height
of fall increases
• if there is no air resistance and
gravity is the only thing that affects
a falling body, such an object is said to
be in free fall
 , who invented
the pendulum clock in 1656, was the first
to measure . He showed that 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:
9.7804m/s2 at the equator and
9.8321 m/s2 at the North and
South poles.
• For practical purposes, the value
of g is 9.8 m/s2.
 In 1971, astronaut
David Scott, who was a
member of Apollo 15
mission to the moon,
simultaneously
dropped a geologist’s
hammer and a feather
from the height on the
(airless) moon and
observed that the
hammer and the feather
fell at the same rate.
 One of the most famous stories in science is
about Galileo Galilei and the Leaning Tower of
Pisa. Galileo supposedly reached out from an
upper balcony and let fall two stones of
different weights. A remarkable thing
happened: to the gasps and amazement of the
crowd below, the stones hit the ground
together. Although doubtless in part
apocryphal, the account does at least have
some backing from Galileo's pupil and
amanuensis Viviani, who reported that Galileo
had done the experiment "in front of all the
faculty and students assembled."
1. Get a notebook and a piece of paper.
2. Hold a notebook and a sheet of paper at
equal heights from the floor.
3. Drop them simultaneously.
4. Answer this: Which fell first?
5. Repeat the experiment, but this time,
crumple the paper into a ball.
6. Answer this: Which fell faster? Why do
you think so?
 • the maximum velocity attained by a
falling object
• 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

Velocity: 54 m/s
Velocity: 105 m/s (Spread-eagled) Velocity: 6 m/s
Air resistance = weight
Recall the formulas of UAM: The formulas of Free-fall:
In free-fall, vi is equal to zero and a is
changed to g, therefore:

v f − vi vf
a= g=
t t
2 2
at gt
d = vi t + d=
2 2
2
v f − vi
2 2
vf
d= d=
2a 2g
 Answer the following. Box the
final answer. Apply significant digit rule.

1. An object is dropped from rest and falls freely.

After 6 seconds, calculate its velocity and
distance fallen.
2. A coin is dropped from a window and takes 2
seconds to reach the ground. From what height
does it fall? With what velocity will it strike the
ground?
 1. A bungee jumper is
freely falling in 20 seconds.
a. What is the velocity of the jumper
at the end of 80 seconds?
b. How far does he fall?

2. A stone hit the floor at 85.0 m/s. How

high
is the building from which it has fallen?
How long was it falling before it hit the
ground?
3. A tilapia is dropped by a hovering eagle. How far will
it drop if it is caught again by the eagle after 20
sec?

4. A raindrop falls from a cloud. If it reaches the ground

at a velocity of 152 m/s,
a. How high is the cloud?
b. How long does it take the raindrop to reach the
ground?
 1. Vincent drops a stone from a bridge 25 m
above the water. With what
velocity does it hit the water?
How long will it hit the water?
2. A brick falls freely from a high scaffold and
hits the ground after 300.50 seconds. How
high is the scaffold? What is the velocity
of the brick just before hitting the ground?

3. A flower pot falls from the ledge of a window

of a building. The ledge is 190 m high. Find
the time the pot hits the ground below and
the velocity of the pot as it hits the ground.
 4. A rock is dropped from a cliff 1490 m
above its base. How long does the
stone take to fall? What is it’s velocity
when it hit the ground?

5. An apple fell from a tree and reached the

ground after 0.05 minutes. How high is the
tree? What is it’s velocity when it hit the
ground? Convert time to seconds.

6. Thor is flying 250.00 meters high above

the sea when he accidentally dropped
his hammer. How long will it take for
his hammer to hit the water? What
will be the hammer’s velocity?