Free fall

The free fall experiment is performed to verify that all objects fall with the same acceleration due to gravity (g), regardless of their mass, when air resistance is negligible.

Aim:

To determine the acceleration due to gravity, g, using the free fall of a body.

Principle:

According to Galileo’s law of falling bodies, in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall with the same constant acceleration

?

≈

9.8

 

?

/

?

2

g≈9.8m/s

2

.

The distance travelled by a freely falling object in time

?

t is:

?

=

1

2

?

?

2

s=

2

1

gt

2

Apparatus:

Electromagnet (to hold the ball)

Steel ball

Timer (electronic timer/stopwatch)

Trap door or sensor to detect the fall