Free Fall

Free Fall
Aristotle’s Theory of Motion

• The fall of a heavy object toward the center of
the earth is a natural motion because the object
is just returning to its natural place.
• Heavy objects fall faster than lighter ones. He
explained that the increase in the rate of motion
is proportional to the weight of the object.
• Objects sometimes move away from their
natural force. He called this type of motion
“violent motion” which he explained was
caused by an outside force.
Galileo’s Theory of Motion
• Two objects (light and heavy), dropped
simultaneously fell and struck the ground at
the same time.
• Force is not necessarily required for violent
motion. Force is not required for object
moving at constant velocity.
• Galileo concluded that all object on earth in
the absence of air or other resistance would
fall with the same constant acceleration due
to gravity.
• When a ball was rolled
down an incline at a
fixed angle θ, the ratio
of the distance covered
to the square of the
corresponding time was
always the same.
• The term free fall refers to the motion of a
falling body under the influence of gravity and
no other forces.
• In this type of motion, air resistance is either
absent or insignificant.
• An object is falling freely when the only force
acting on it is the weight.
• The acceleration involved in a fall is called
acceleration due to gravity (g), which is found
to be constant at the same distance from the
Earth, regardless of the weight of the body.
• The value of acceleration due to gravity on
Earth is 9.8 m/s2.
The Apollo 15 Hammer-Feather Drop
• At the end of the last Apollo 15

moon walk, Commander David
Scott performed a live
demonstration for the
television cameras.
• He held out a geologic hammer
and a feather and dropped
them at the same time.
• Because they were essentially
in a vacuum, there was no air
resistance and the feather fell
at the same rate as the
hammer.
Equations of Free Fall
Sample Problems
1. In an amusement park, a Demon Drop ride
falls freely for 2 s after starting from rest.
Find (a) its velocity at the end of 2 s and
(b) the height covered at the end of the
drop.
2. A rock is thrown downward with an initial
speed of 2.0 m/s. What is the speed of the
rock after it has descended 2.0 m?
Exercise 1. Solve the following problem.
1. A coin was tossed upward at an initial
velocity of 5.0 m/s.
a. Find the highest point reached by the coin.
b. Assuming the coin fell back to the hand that
tossed it, find the total time of flight.
Suppose the coin was caught after 0.60 s.
c. At what distance from its starting point was it
caught?
d. How fast was the coin moving when it was
caught?
• Suppose that an elephant and a feather are
dropped off a very tall building from the same
height at the same time. Neglecting air
resistance, which will hit the ground first?
Why? (Relate to Newton’s second law of
motion, a=F/m)
Solve the following problem.
A ball is thrown vertically upward at a speed of
10.0 m/s.
1. Determine the position of the ball at each of
these times: (a) 0.75 s, (b) 1.00 s, (c) 2.00 s,
and (d) 3.00 s.
Time (s) Displacement (m)
0.75
1.00
2.00
3.00
2. How high the ball rise?

3. Calculate the ball’s velocity at each given time
in the table below:
Time (s) Velocity (m/s)

0.75
1.00
2.00
3.00
A ball is thrown vertically upward at a speed of
10.0 m/s.
1. Determine the position of the ball at each of
these times: (a) 0.75 s, (b) 1.00 s, (c) 2.00 s,
and (d) 3.00 s.
Time (s) Displacement (m)
0.75 4.74
1.00 5.1
2.00 0.4
3.00 -14.1
2. How high does the ball rise?
= 5.10 m
3. Calculate the ball’s velocity at each given time
in the table below:
Time (s) Velocity (m/s)

0.75 2.65
1.00 0.2
2.00 -9.6
3.00 -19.4
Solve the following problems:
1. A boy threw a ball vertically upward. It
returned to his hands after 9.8 s. (a) What was
the ball’s initial speed? (b) With what speed
did it return to the boy’s hands? (c) How high
did it go?
2. John is clinging at the top of the coconut tree
9.0 m high when he tosses a coconut upward
at an initial speed of 2.0 m/s.
a. What is the highest point reached by the coconut?
b. How much time did it take to get there?
c. Where is the coconut relative to John’s perch after
0.5 s?
d. What is the coconut’s velocity at this time?

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Free Fall

Aristotle’s Theory of Motion

• At the end of the last Apollo 15

2. How high the ball rise?

Time (s) Velocity (m/s)

Time (s) Velocity (m/s)

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