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Acceleration of free fall:

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• An object that is moving only under the influence of gravity is said to
be under free fall.

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• Free falling objects accelerate at a constant rate.
• The acceleration due to gravity is approximately 10m/s
• Under free fall, objects reach the earth at the same time , irrespective

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of their masses; if dropped from the same height above the earth's surface
because the acceleration of free fall is constant.
• A non zero resultant force acts on a free falling object that has just

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FALLING OBJECTS ARE AFFECTED BY TWO TYPES OF FORCES:
1. The weight of the object: This is a force acting downwards, caused by
the object’s mass being pulled by the Earth’s gravitational field.
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2. Air resistance: This is a frictional force acting in the opposite direction
to the movement of the object.
THE ACT OF FALLING OF OBJECTS CAN BE CATEGORISED INTO 3
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STAGES BEFORE IT HITS THE GROUND:
1. At the start, the object accelerates downwards because of its weight.
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There is no air resistance. There is a resultant force acting downwards.

2. As it gains speed, the object’s weight stays the same, but the air
resistance on it increases. There is a resultant force acting downwards.
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3. Travelling at steady speed: Eventually, the object’s weight is balanced

by the air resistance. There is no resultant force and the object reaches a
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steady speed, called the terminal velocity.

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Free fall graphs:
A parachutist jumps out of an aeroplane but does not open his parachute until
some time has elapsed.

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a. The value of the acceleration immediately after he has jumped from the
aeroplane is:10m/s2.
b. The acceleration decreases until point A on the graph is reached. This is
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because the graph becomes less steep ( or the gradient decreases)
c. The parachutist's speed in region AB is: constant
d. The forces on the parachute in the AB region: There is no resultant
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force( Or upward force = downward force or weight= air resistance)
e. The point at which the parachutist opened his parachute: B
f. The speed decrease from B-D because: the air resistance is bigger than
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the weight because as the parachute is opened it provides a larger

surface area
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APPLICATION BASED QUESTIONS
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APPLICATION BASED QUESTIONS:
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FREE FALL GRAPHS:
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EXTENDED THEORY

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