Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics

General
LESSON 7
Physics 1
❑ One-Dimensional Uniformly
Accelerated Motion (UAM):
Vertical Motion/Free Fall
 UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED
MOTION (UAM)
Free Fall– is the motion of an object under the
effect or influence of gravity ONLY.
 FREE FALL

Important Note:

❑ Free fall does not mean that the object is falling

down only.

❑ Objects thrown upward or downward and those

released from rest are all examples of free fall.
 FREE FALL
Activity
Part A:
1. Hold a stone and piece of paper at the same
height.
2. Drop the stone and paper simultaneously.

Questions:
Which will hit the ground first?
Why?
 FREE FALL
Activity
Part B:
1. Do the same procedure in Part A, but this time
use crumpled paper.
2. Drop the stone and crumpled paper
simultaneously.

Questions:
Which will hit the ground first?
Why?
 FREE FALL
Air Resistance
- The force of friction or drag acting on an object in
a direction opposing its motion as it moves through
air.
 Galileo dropped a
cannonball and a musket ball
simultaneously from a tower, and
observed that they both hit the
ground at the same time. This
contradicted Aristotle's long-
accepted idea that heavier
objects fell faster.

http://faculty.rmwc.edu/tmichalik/movies/tree.mpeg
Hammer & Feather in the presence of air resistance
Hammer & Feather in the absence of air resistance
 FREE FALL

In 1971, David Randolph Scott

made a breakthrough when he
performed an experiment during
the Apollo 15 moon landing
mission. He showed that a
hammer and a feather had on
the surface of the moon at the
same time despite their different
David Randolph Scott, one of the
weights. astronauts in the Apollo 15 mission,
showed how free fall works on the
moon.
ImageSource:https://www.journeytothemoonthroughtexas.
com/david_r_scott/
Actual Video of the Historic Experiment of
David Randolph Scott in 1971
 FREE FALL
❑This confirmed Galileo’s theory – when dropped together,
all objects will reach the ground at the same time
regardless of their weights.

❑Galileo has proven that all objects, in the absence of

air resistance, fall with the same constant
acceleration.

❑This acceleration is called acceleration due to gravity

and denoted by the symbol g.

❑Its magnitude is approximately g = -9.8 m/s2.

 THE BIG 4
Four (4) UAM Equations or Kinematic Equations

1. 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑣𝑓 +𝑣𝑖
2. 𝑑 = 𝑡
2
3. 𝑣𝑓 =
2
𝑣𝑖 2
+ 2𝑎𝑑
1
4. 𝑑 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
 THE BIG 4
Four (4) UAM Equations or Kinematic Equations
in Horizontal Motion

1. 𝑣𝑓𝑥 = 𝑣𝑖𝑥 + 𝑎𝑥 𝑡
𝑣𝑓𝑥 +𝑣𝑖𝑥
2. 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑡
2
3. 𝑣𝑓𝑥 =
2
𝑣𝑖𝑥 2
+ 2𝑎𝑥 𝑑𝑥
1
4. 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑣𝑖𝑥 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑥 𝑡 2
2
 THE BIG 4
Four (4) UAM Equations or Kinematic Equations
in Vertical Motion/Free Fall

1. 𝑣𝑓𝑦 = 𝑣𝑖𝑦 + 𝑔𝑡
𝑣𝑓𝑦 +𝑣𝑖𝑦
2. 𝑑𝑦 = 𝑡
2
3. 𝑣𝑓𝑦 =
2
𝑣𝑖𝑦 2
+ 2𝑔𝑑𝑦
1
4. 𝑑𝑦 = 𝑣𝑖𝑦 𝑡 + 𝑔𝑡 2
2
 FREE FALL
Case 1: Dropped from rest
❑ An object in free fall experiences an acceleration
of -9.8 m/s/s. (The - sign indicates a downward
acceleration.) Whether explicitly stated or not, the
value of the acceleration in the kinematic
equations is -9.8 m/s/s for any freely falling
object (g = -9.8 m/s2).
❑ If an object is merely dropped (as opposed to
being thrown) from an elevated height, then the
initial velocity of the object is 0 m/s(𝒗𝒊𝒚 =0 m/s).
 Free Fall (Dropped from Rest)

Sample Problem 1:

A rock was dropped on top of the building and hits the

ground after 5 seconds. What is the height of the
building?
 Free Fall (Dropped from Rest)

Sample Problem 2:

A rock was dropped on top of the building and hits the

ground after 122.5 m high. How long will the rock hit
the ground?
 FREE FALL
Case 2: Thrown Upward
❑ Initial velocity is not equal to zero.
❑ The velocity at its maximum height is equal to
zero.
❑ The velocity at which it is projected is equal in
magnitude and opposite in sign to the velocity
that it has when it returns to the same height.
❑ The time spent in its upward motion is equal to
the time spent in its downward motion. Hence,
the total time of flight is equal to 𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 = 𝟐𝒕 .
 Free Fall (Dropped from Rest)

Sample Problem 3:

A ball is thrown vertically upward with a velocity of 25.0

m/s.
a) How long does it take to reach the highest point?
b) How high does it rise?
 Free Fall (Dropped from Rest)

Sample Problem 4:

A boy throws a ball 18 m vertically into the air. How long

does he have to wait to catch it on the way down?
 FREE FALL

Problem Set # 6:

1. A ripe mango, hanging from a branch, suddenly falls to the

ground. If the mango acquired a final velocity of 8 m/s when it
hit the ground, how high was the mango before it fell?

2. A ball is thrown vertically upward with a velocity of 12 m/s.

a) At what height is the ball 1 s later?
b) 2 s later?
c) What is the maximum height the ball reaches?