At what rate do things fall?

Answer 1

The speed that things fall to the earth depends on two things, how fast they started falling and how long they have been falling. The equation for finding that speed, v, is:

v = v0 + a*t

where v0 is the initial speed something began falling, a is the acceleration or change in velocity is causing it to fall, and t is the time it has been falling. If the object is falling on the earth, the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s2. So, if you drop something off a very tall building by just letting it go, letting v0 = 0, then after 10 seconds, it will be moving at 98 m/s. The weight of the object only matters if there is air resistance.

Answer 2

Despite the "rule" that all objects fall at the same rate from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, air resistance, buoyancy and density have a lot to do with real-world results. "Terminal velocity" is the term for the maximum speed of an object in freefall. Skydivers fall at about 55 meters per second, as do live chickens tossed from airplanes (Don't ask me how I know this....but it seemed to enjoy the ride and landed as if nothing had happened). But if you drop a javelin point first and vane- or spin-stabilized, the velocity would be many times as fast--approaching the speed of sound. For objects coming from outer space, they have no ordinary speed limits, but they do slow down in the atmosphere and give up their energy in a fiery display.

Answer 3

Just as on Earth, falling objects on the moon fall faster and faster.

So the speed depends on how long they've been falling.

The acceleration due to gravity on or near the surface of the moon

is 1.62 meters (5.32 feet) per second2 .

Answer 4

Gravity is a constant and the velocity of any falling object is 9.8 meters per second/per second.

Acceleration is the same for all objects at 9.8m/sec/sec.

Acceleration due to gravity near the earth's surface is the same for all objects regardless of their mass.

This is because acceleration is inversely proportional to mass:

a = F / m

If you substitute the "force of gravity" equation above for F in this simple equation, and assume m here is m1 there, you'll find you have m1 (mass of the falling object) on both sides of the fraction, so they cancel out - acceleration due to gravity doesn't change with the mass of the object. But the force most definitely does.

Force and acceleration are two very different things. Confusing them leads to wrong answers and further confusion in later topics.

Answer 5

Gravity is a force, and force is the product of mass and acceleration. In other words, falling objects do not have a speed. They begin with an initial velocity of zero, and accelerate. Near the surface of earth objects fall at -32 feet per second squared, or -9.8 m/s2. There is an equation you can use to calculate the velocity of an object at any particular time during its fall. Because earth has an atmosphere, objects may reach a terminal velocity. This velocity varies with resistance. A dart, for example, should fall a bit faster than a Bowling ball, as it has a more aerodynamic shape. Terminal velocity for a sky diver with an unopened parachute is about 124 miles per hour (200 kph). As you may guess, an impact with the ground at this speed would most likely be fatal.

Answer 6

Their own terminal velocity. It changes from object to object and situation to situation.

Answer 7

In a vacuum on earth an objects acceleration due to gravity is approximately 9.81 meters per second every second.

Answer 8

32.15 feet per second

Answer 9

9.8 m/s