Falling Objects
    Near the surface of the Earth, the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/sec/sec.  Use this information to completethe table below.  Then use your data to make a graph of velocity vs time for a falling object.

                                                                            Table 1: Falling objects

Time in Air(seconds)
Velocity (meters/second)
1
.
2
.
3
.
.
39.2
.
49.0
6
.
7
.
8
.
9
.
.
98.0
 
Graph: Velocity vs. Time for Falling Objects
 
 
 
GOING FURTHER
In free fall, the distance d in meters that the object falls in equal to 1/2gt2, where g is the acceleration due to gravity and t is the time in seconds. 1.  A ball is dropped from the top story of a skyscraper.  Use the formula d = 1/2gt2  to calculate the distance the ball falls during the first 10 seconds.  Enter your calculations on the data table.
 
 
 time (s)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
 distance = 1/2gt2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2.  Based on your data, would an object fall the same distance during each
    1 second interval? ______________

3.  If your answer is yes, support your answer.  If your answer is no, describe
    how the distance of a falling object changes with time.
    ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
 
 
 
 
 

4.  Plot the data.  Describe the shape of the graph for distance versus time
    of a falling object.
 
 

5.  Explain why the graph has the shape that it does.