FREE-FALL

MOTION
FREE-FALL MOTION
 FREE-FALL MOTION
• An object is in Free-Fall when
the only force acting on the
object is the Force of Gravity.
• An object is in Free-Fall when:
♥ It is not touching any other
objects.
♥ There is no air resistance.
COMMON MISCONCEPTION
For some reason people think the word “fall” in Free-Fall means that
the object must be going down. This is absolutely, not true. An object
thrown upward is in Free-Fall from the moment it leaves the persons
hand until it touches the ground.
TYPES OF FREE-FALL MOTION
RISING OBJECTS

DROPPING OBJECTS
 FREE-FALL MOTION
• When an object is in Free-
Fall (on planet Earth):
ay = −g = −9.81 m/s2
= 9.81 m/s2 , downward
• g = the acceleration due to gravity and on
earth

gEARTH = 9.81 m/s2

 ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY
• The acceleration due to gravity, g, is
different on different planets and moons.

MOON = (1.62 m/s2 )

(9.81 m/s2 )
(8.83 m/s2 )
(3.61 m/s2 )
ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY
In 1971, astronaut David Scott conducted Galileo's famous
hammer/feather drop experiment on the moon, during the Apollo 15
mission. Galileo had concluded that all objects, regardless of mass,
fall at the same speed -- however, the resistance caused by the air
(as in the case of the feather in Earth's atmosphere) can cause the
feather to drop slower. Well, on the moon there is no atmosphere (a
vacuum), so the objects should drop at the same speed. 
ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY
Mass is irrelevant. All objects, regardless of mass, will have the same acceleration
 ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
g is not the same at all g is constant
locations on the planet

Since g is constant and therefore you

can use the UNIFORM ACCELERATED
MOTION equations

So little g is constant from a local perspective, however, when

you look at it globally, the acceleration due to gravity varies
from location to location.
UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION (UAM)
• When an object is in Free-Fall we know the
acceleration is constant, therefore: An
object in Free-Fall is an object experiencing
Uniformly Accelerated Motion.
UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION (UAM)
• When an object is in Free-Fall we know the
acceleration is constant, therefore: An
object in Free-Fall is an object experiencing
Uniformly Accelerated Motion.
UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION EQUATIONS
(KINEMATIC EQUATIONS)
 EXAMPLE 1
• Ben was mad at her sister so he
took her iPhone and dropped it
out the window of his third
story bedroom. If the bedroom
window is 8.75m above the
ground, determine the time
required for the iPhone to reach
the ground.
 EXAMPLE 1
• Ben was mad at her sister so he took her iPhone and dropped it out the window of
his third story bedroom. If the bedroom window is 8.75m above the ground,
determine the time required for the iPhone to reach the ground.

Vi = 0 m/s

ay= -9.8 m/s2

d = - 8.75m

Vf = t=
 EXAMPLE 2
• Jen is standing at the edge of a cliff that overlooks a lake. She picks up a
rock and drop it straight down into the lake. If the rock takes 2.45s to reach
the lake, what is the velocity of the rock just before it hits the water?

Vi = 0 m/s
ay= -9.8 m/s2

t = 2.45s
d=
Vf =
 EXAMPLE 3
• Sir Isaac Newton now lives in Berlin, Germany and wants to
recheck his theory of gravitation. To do so he goes to the very
top of the 370m high tower and drops an apple. How fast will
the apple be travelling just before it hits the ground?

Vi = 0 m/s
ay= -9.8 m/s2

t=
d = 370m
Vf =
 EXAMPLE 4
• Jenna is standing at the edge of a cliff that overlooks a lake. He picks up a rock and
drop it straight down into the lake. If the rock takes 2.75s to reach the lake, what is
the height of the cliff above the water?

Vi = 0 m/s
ay= -9.8 m/s2

t = 2.45s
d=
Vf =
 EXAMPLE 5
• An object is thrown straight up in the air with an initial velocity
of 15 m/s. For how long will the ball be in the air?
Vf = 0 m/s

ay= -9.8 m/s2

d=

t =?
Vi = 15 m/s