Graph of Free Falling

  1. Free falling is a motion under gravitational force as the only force acting on the moving object.
  2. The acceleration of a free falling object is always constant.
  3. On the surface of the earth, the acceleration of is equal to 10ms-2, and is named as gravitational acceleration.
  4. In SPM, you need to know the graphs of free falling of the following movement
    1. Launching object upward.
    2. Dropping Object from High Place
    3. Object Falling and Bounce Back

Launching Object Upward

  1. When you launch an object upward, its velocity decreases at a constant rate, hence it’s a straight line with negative gradient in a velocity-time graph. 
  2. Since the velocity decreases at a constant rate, hence the acceleration is constant. Also, the acceleration is negative because the speed decreases in positive direction. Therefore, the acceleration graph is a horizontal line in the negative domain.
Motion
Velocity-Time Graph
Acceleration-Time Graph
Dropping Object from a High Place
  1. When an object drops from a high place, its velocity increases at a constant rate, hence it’s a straight line with positive gradient in a velocity-time graph. 
  2. Since the velocity increases at a constant rate and the speed increases in positive direction hence the acceleration is constant and positive.
Motion
Velocity-Time Graph
Acceleration-Time Graph
Object Falling and Bounce Back
Motion
Velocity-Time Graph
Acceleration-Time Graph