Question 1

What is free fall?

Accepted Answer

Free fall is the motion of an object where gravity is the only force acting on it. In true free fall, air resistance is ignored. All objects in free fall near Earth's surface accelerate at approximately 9.81 m/s², regardless of their mass (as Galileo demonstrated).

Question 2

Do heavier objects fall faster?

Accepted Answer

No. In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of mass. This was famously demonstrated by Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott, who dropped a hammer and a feather on the Moon and they hit the ground at the same time. In air, however, air resistance affects lighter or less aerodynamic objects more.

Question 3

What is terminal velocity?

Accepted Answer

Terminal velocity is the maximum speed a falling object reaches when the drag force from air resistance equals the gravitational force. For a skydiver, terminal velocity is roughly 55 m/s (200 km/h) in a spread-eagle position. This calculator ignores air resistance and shows theoretical free-fall velocities.

Question 4

How do I calculate fall time from a given height?

Accepted Answer

For an object dropped from rest, fall time is t = √(2h/g), where h is the height and g is gravitational acceleration. For Earth, dropping from 10 meters gives t = √(20/9.81) ≈ 1.43 seconds.

Free Fall Calculator

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