What distance does a freely falling object fall after 1 second?

To determine the distance a freely falling object falls after 1 second, we can utilize the basic kinematic equation for uniformly accelerated motion. For an object in free fall near the surface of the Earth, the only force acting on it is gravity, which accelerates the object at approximately (9.81 , \text{m/s}^2).

The formula to calculate the distance fallen under constant acceleration (ignoring air resistance) is given by:

[ d = \frac{1}{2}gt^2 ]

Where:

• (d) is the distance fallen,
• (g) is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately (9.81 , \text{m/s}^2)),
• (t) is the time in seconds.

For 1 second of free fall, we can substitute (t) with 1:

[ d = \frac{1}{2} \times 9.81 , \text{m/s}^2 \times (1,s)^2 ] [ d = \frac{1}{2} \times 9.81 ] [ d = 4.905 , \text{meters} ]

When rounding