Free fall facts for kids
Free fall is when an object drops only because of gravity. Nothing else is pushing it or holding it back. It's like when you let go of a ball, and it falls straight down.
If you are standing on the ground, you are not in free fall. But if you jump from an airplane, you are in free fall! This lasts until the air pushes back enough to slow you down. This push from the air is called air resistance.
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What is Free Fall?
Free fall happens when gravity is the only force acting on an object. This means there is no air pushing against it, and nothing is powering it forward.
Examples of Free Fall
- A skydiver jumping out of an airplane is in free fall.
- A cannonball shot from a cannon is in free fall. This is true even when it is flying upwards! It stays in free fall until it hits the ground.
- Most spacecraft are in free fall. When their engines are off and they are not landed, they are just floating through space. This is a type of free fall.
Gravity's Pull
On Earth, gravity pulls everything downwards. This pull makes objects speed up as they fall. The speed at which things speed up is called acceleration.
The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is about 9.81 meters per second squared. This means that for every second an object is in free fall, its speed increases by about 9.81 meters per second.
What is Terminal Velocity?
When an object falls through the air, air resistance pushes against it. As the object speeds up, the air resistance gets stronger. Eventually, the air resistance becomes as strong as the pull of gravity.
When these two forces are equal, the object stops speeding up. It then falls at a steady speed. This steady speed is called terminal velocity. A skydiver reaches terminal velocity before opening their parachute.
Images for kids
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Free fall of an apple
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Measured fall time of a small steel sphere falling from various heights.
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Acceleration of a small meteoroid when entering the Earth's atmosphere.
See also
In Spanish: Caída libre para niños
