SUVAT equations are equations like you mentioned at the beginning of the thread, such as
s = ut + 1/2at^2 , or v = u + at. They are named SUVAT equations because they all contain either the terms s, u, v, a or t.
SUVAT equations don't take into account air resistance, so strictly an object will take 2 seconds to fall that distance in a vacuum.
Also, given that the object accelerates at 9.8ms-2, after one second of falling it will have a velocity of 9.8ms-1, so it will be traveling quite quickly after...