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Explanation of Overview of Gravity Equations for Falling Objects by Ron Kurtus - Succeed in Understanding Physics. Key words: physical science, force, mass, gravitational constant, acceleration, velocity, displacement, time, calculation, square-root, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions
Overview of Gravity Equations for Falling Objects
by Ron Kurtus (revised 27 December 2010)
A falling object is an object that you drop from some height above the ground. Since it is dropped, its initial velocity is zero (vi = 0).
There are simple derived equations that allow you to calculate the velocity for a given time or displacement from the starting point, the displacement the object falls within a given time or when it has reached a given velocity, and the time it takes to reach a given velocity or displacement.
(See Overview of Gravity Equation Derivations for more information.)
Note: You normally do not need to memorize these equations, but you should know where to find them in order to solve equations.
Questions you may have include:
- What are the velocity equations?
- What are the displacement equations?
- What are the time equations?
This lesson will answer those questions.
Useful tool: Metric-English Conversion
Velocity equations
The equations for the velocity of a falling object are:
v = gt
v = √(2gy)
(See Gravity Velocity Equations for Falling Objects for details on using these equations, as well as some examples.)
Displacement equations
The equations for the displacement that the object falls are:
y = gt2/2
y = v2/2g
(See Gravity Displacement Equations for Falling Objects for details on using these equations, as well as some examples.)
Time equations
The equations for the elapsed time of a falling object are:
t = v/g
t = √(2y/g)
(See Gravity Time Equations for Falling Objects for details on using these equations, as well as some examples.)
Summary
There are simple equations for falling objects that allow you to calculate the velocity and displacement traveled, as well as the time taken to achieve a given velocity or displacement.
Check your numbers
Resources and references
Websites
Falling Bodies - Physics Hypertextbook
Equations for a falling body - Wikipedia
Gravity Calculations - Earth - Calculator
Kinematic Equations and Free Fall - Physics Classroom
Books
Top-rated books on Simple Gravity Science
Top-rated books on Advanced Gravity Physics
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Overview of Gravity Equations for Falling Objects