Falling bodies

If we drop a small piece of paper and a coin from the same

height, which one will reach the ground first?

In a vacuum

The piece of paper and the coin would land at the same time.
This is because there is no air resistance and they both
experience the same downward acceleration of 9,8 m/s2.
This acceleration is called the acceleration of free fall and is given
the symbol g. It is the same for all objects and does not depend
on their mass.
Eg. A ball is fired upwards at a speed of 29,4 m/s. Ignore the
effects of air resistance

a. What will the speed of the ball be at the top of it’s path?
b. How fast will the ball be going after 1s?
c. How long will it take to reach the top of it’s path?
d. What is the total time taken for the ball to come back to
its starting point?
Under the influence of air resistance

The coin would reach the ground first. This is because of air
resistance. Air resistance has a greater effect on light bodies
than on heavy bodies.
The air resistance to a light body is large when compared with
the body’s weight. With a coin, the air resistance is negligible
at low speeds.

At first there is a downwards

unbalanced force so the person
will be accelerating

Air resistance < Weight

As the speed increases, the air

resistance also increases, reducing
it’s acceleration.
 After a while the forces balance
and the person travels at a constant
velocity known as terminal velocity.
Terminal velocity depends on the size,
shape and weight of the object.

Air resistance = weight

When the parachute is open there is a big

upwards unbalanced force. The person
will slow down

Air resistance > Weight

A small dense object such as a coin has a high terminal velocity
and will fall a great distance with a constant acceleration of
9,8 m/s2 before the air resistance = weight

A light object eg. raindrop or an object with a large surface area

eg. parachute has a low terminal velocity and will only accelerate
for a short distance before air resistance = weight

*** g has two meanings

➔ Gravitational field strength 9,8 N/kg
➔ Acceleration of free fall 9,8 m/s2