According to Aristotle, objects in

terrestrial realm move according to

the material they contain. Terrestrial
objects rise or fall, to greater or
lesser extent, according to the ratio
of the four elements of which they
are composed.
A balloon rises A stone thrown upward goes down
“Heavier objects fall faster
than lighter ones”
-Aristotle-
?? ??
Steel Ball A - Heavier Steel Ball B – Less Heavier
 “Without air resistance, all
objects would fall to the ground
at the same rate”
-Galileo-
 In 1971, astronaut David Scott
performed a similar experiment
on the surface of the moon by
dropping a feather and a hammer
at the same height.

Both objects reached the

surface of the moon at the same
time but fell at a slower rate than
they would have on earth.
David Scott
• Very idealized motion in which air resistance is
neglected and the acceleration is constant is called
FREE FALL.
• A free falling object is one that is falling under the
sole influence of gravity.

• Any object that is being acted upon only by the force

of gravity is said to be in a state of free fall.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF FREE FALL
 There are two important characteristics of free falling objects:
Free-falling objects do not encounter air resistance.
All free-falling objects (on earth) accelerate downwards
at a rate of 9.8 m/s/s (m/s2)
The acceleration due to gravity is denoted with the
symbols ag or g (on the surface of the earth)
• Acceleration is constant during upward and downward
motion
 The acceleration of a freely falling body is called
acceleration due to gravity and is equal to -9.8 m/s2 at
the surface of Earth. The negative sign means that this
acceleration is downward and directed toward the
center of Earth. The succeeding discussion uses the
letter g to denote its magnitude. Thus, g is equal to
9.8 m/s2.
• When we throw an object up in the air, it will continue to
move upward for some time, stop momentarily at the peak,
and then change direction and begin to fall.
• Because the object changes direction, it may seem that
the velocity and acceleration are both changing.
• Actually objects thrown into the air have a downward
acceleration as soon as they are released
 VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION DURING FREE FALL
•Free falling objects always have the same downward
acceleration
•When going up, velocity is positive and acceleration is
negative (-9.8 m/s2) - the object is slowing down
•When falling down, velocity is negative and acceleration is
negative (-9.8 m/s2) - the object is speeding up
Remember that when the signs of velocity and acceleration
are the same, an object speeds up. When they are opposite,
an object is slowing down
 DOWNWARD MOTION
UPWARD MOTION (free fall)
a maximum height
v =0
t =t1

+d y  Distance above the origin

 Upward velocities +v
-v  Downward
velocities

Point of release dy = 0
t=t0

 Distance
below the origin -d y
CALCULATING FREE FALL
𝑑 1
a.) 𝑣ҧ = d.) 𝑑 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑔𝑡 2
𝑡 2
𝑣𝑓 −𝑣𝑖
b.) 𝑎 =
𝑡
𝑣𝑓 +𝑣𝑖 e.) 2𝑎𝑑 = 𝑣𝑓 2 − 𝑣𝑖 2
c.) 𝑣ҧ =
2
 Sample Problem

A ball is thrown vertically upward with a speed of 4.9 m/s.

Find
(a)the maximum height reached by the ball and
(b)its time of flight.
(c) At what velocity would the ball return to its starting
point?
 Given: 𝒗𝒊 = 4.9 m/s
g = -9.8 m/s/s

Solution:
a.) 2𝑎𝑑 = 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 2 2 b.) The time of flight (T) is the total c.) 𝑎 =
𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖

time the ball is in the air. 𝑡

T = time to rise + time to fall

𝑣𝑓 2 −𝑣𝑖 2 𝑣𝑓 = -gt + 𝑣𝑖
d= 2𝑎 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
𝑎=
𝑚
𝑡 T = 2t = 2(0.5s) = (-9.8 m/s/s)(0.5s) + 0
0−(4.9 𝑠 )2
= = 1.0 s
𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
2 (−9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 ) 𝑡=
−𝑔 = -4.9 m/s
0 −4.9 𝑚/𝑠
= 1.225 m ≈ 𝟏. 𝟐 𝒎 =
−9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2
= 0.5 s
EXERCISES:
1.) A ball thrown vertically upward lands on the thrower’s hand in 24.5 s.
Find (a) the time taken by the ball to reach its maximum height, (b) the
initial velocity of the ball, and (c) the maximum height attained by the
ball. Given:
Time = 24.5 s
g = -9.8 m/s/s
𝑣𝑓 2 −𝑣𝑖 2
a.) T = 2t b.) 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑔𝑡 c.) 𝑑 =
2𝑔
𝑇 24.5 𝑠 0 − 120.05 𝑚/𝑠 2
t = = 2 = 12.25s = 0 – (-9.8 m/s2)(12.25s) =
2 2(−9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 )
= 120.05 m/s
= 735.31 m
 EXERCISES:
2.) A boy threw a ball vertically upward. It returned to his hands after 9.8
seconds.
a.) What was the ball’s initial speed? Given:
b.) With what speed did it return to the boy’s hands? T = 9.8 s
c.) How high did it go? g = -9.8 m/s2

a.) 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑔𝑡 b.) 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑔𝑡 𝑣𝑓 2 −𝑣𝑖 2

c.) 𝑑 =
2
= 0- (-9.8 m/s )(4.9s) = 48.02 m/s+(-9.8 m/s )(9.8s)
2 2𝑔
0 − 48.02 𝑚/𝑠 2
= 48.02 m/s = -48.02 m/s =
2(−9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 )
= 117.65 m
EXERCISES:
3.) A ball is thrown upward and returns to the ground 8 seconds later
a.) With what velocity was the ball thrown?
b.) How high did the ball go?
4.) In an amusement park, a Demon Drop ride falls freely for 2 seconds
after starting from rest. Find
a.) Its velocity at the end of 2 seconds
b.) The height covered at the end of the drop
EXERCISES:
A stone is thrown vertically up with an initial velocity of
4.9 m/s from the top of a building that is 52 m high. On its way
down, it misses the top of the building and goes straight to the
ground. Find:
a.) Its maximum height relative to the ground
b.) Its time of flight or the total time it is in air, and
c.) Its velocity just before it reaches the ground.