Acceleration of gravity and Newton's laws of motion

In summary: So the force you exert on the ground is also equal to your mass times the acceleration. So if your mass is 83.28 kg, the force you exert on the ground is 822 Newton.When you are falling, the only force acting on you is gravity. According to Newton's first law, if there is no net force acting on an object, then it will continue moving at a constant velocity. However, because gravity is a force, it causes you to accelerate and therefore your velocity changes.When you are standing on the ground, the force of gravity is countered by the normal force exerted by the ground, which is also equal to your mass times the acceleration due to gravity. This results in a net force of
  • #1
pinochet
9
1
hello I've just started learning physics my question is why do force increase while falling and stay constant while on the ground.i know force is increasing because in free fall things accelerate which according to Newton first law force must also go up. the force of gravity of Earth is 9.8N per kilogram so i figure if my mass is 83.28 kg than the force of gravity should stay 822 Newton which it does if something support your weight so why do thing accelerate i the way i see it free shall should not change there velocity if the only force is gravity which is porportional to mass .
 
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  • #2
pinochet said:
hello I've just started learning physics my question is why do force increase while falling and stay constant while on the ground.i know force is increasing because in free fall things accelerate which according to Newton first law force must also go up. the force of gravity of Earth is 9.8N per kilogram so i figure if my mass is 83.28 kg than the force of gravity should stay 822 Newton which it does if something support your weight so why do thing accelerate i the way i see it free shall should not change there velocity if the only force is gravity which is porportional to mass .
You seem to be under the impression that force is proportional to velocity -- that is, that the faster you are going, the more force is required to keep you going that fast. That turns out not to be correct. Newton's first law says that it takes no force at all to keep a moving object moving.

Newton's second law says that it takes force to make an object accelerate.
 
  • #3
I have trouble understanding your question but..
  1. If you are falling, the "force of gravity" is working on you and making you accelerate.
  2. As long as we are talking about things happening in the close vicinity of Earth, the force does not "increase while falling".
  3. When you are on the ground, the ground applies a force on you that is equal to the "force of gravity", but in the opposite direction. Net force on you: 0
 
  • #4
jbriggs444 said:
You seem to be under the impression that force is proportional to velocity -- that is, that the faster you are going, the more force is required to keep you going that fast. That turns out not to be correct. Newton's first law says that it takes no force at all to keep a moving object moving.

Newton's second law says that it takes force to make an object accelerate.

yes force has to increase for you to go fast i don't mean to keep from slowing down, if force stay the same ,velocity should stay the same. so if I am given a force of 822N due to my mass in Earth gravity if i were to fall i show fall with a force of 822N
Svein said:
I have trouble understanding your question but..
  1. If you are falling, the "force of gravity" is working on you and making you accelerate.
  2. As long as we are talking about things happening in the close vicinity of Earth, the force does not "increase while falling".
  3. When you are on the ground, the ground applies a force on you that is equal to the "force of gravity", but in the opposite direction. Net force on you: 0
this force that is acting on me is it 9.8N per kilogram
 
  • #5
pinochet said:
yes force has to increase for you to go fast i don't mean to keep from slowing down, if force stay the same ,velocity should stay the same.
That is simply not true. If net force is non-zero and stays the same, you go faster and faster without bound.

Edit: There is a bound if you invoke special relativity. But let's not go there.
 
  • #6
pinochet said:
this force that is acting on me is it 9.8N per kilogram
Right, and it is always the same, no matter whether you are falling, jumping upwards, standing on the ground or doing whatever, as long as you don't go to space.

Force and velocity are different things. While falling, your speed is increasing because there is a force accelerating you downwards. While standing on ground, the downwards force from gravity is in balance with the upwards force from the floor, so you do not accelerate.
 
  • #7
pinochet said:
yes force has to increase for you to go fast i don't mean to keep from slowing down, if force stay the same ,velocity should stay the same. so if I am given a force of 822N due to my mass in Earth gravity if i were to fall i show fall with a force of 822N

That is incorrect. Acceleration is a function of force, as the equation A = F/M states. If there is a net force applied to an object, then there is acceleration, which means that the velocity is changing. A net force of zero means that there is zero acceleration and velocity does not change. This doesn't mean velocity is zero, only that it is is not changing.

If you drop an object near the surface of the Earth, the object accelerates at effectively a constant rate as the net force applied to the object by gravity is very close to constant.
 
  • #8
pinochet said:
hello I've just started learning physics my question is why do force increase while falling and stay constant while on the ground.i know force is increasing because in free fall things accelerate which according to Newton first law force must also go up. the force of gravity of Earth is 9.8N per kilogram so i figure if my mass is 83.28 kg than the force of gravity should stay 822 Newton which it does if something support your weight so why do thing accelerate i the way i see it free shall should not change there velocity if the only force is gravity which is porportional to mass .

Force doesn't increase while falling.

Force = mass * acceleration. The acceleration is a constant given by g = 9.8 m/s^2. And the mass is a constant too. Thus the force is a constant too.
What is increasing is the velocity. A constant acceleration (different from 0) means that the velocity is increasing linearly in time, while the position is increasing quadratically.

The force of gravity (the weight) while falling is the same as while on the ground. When falling, the only force acting on the object is the force of gravity => constant 9.8 m/s^2 acceleration => velocity increases.
When on ground, the forces that act upon the object are the force of gravity pointing downwards and the normal force pointing upwards. Thus the net force is 0 => acceleration is 0 => velocity stays at 0.
 
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  • #9
I think you guys may be missing the issue based on the grammar issues in the OP. It appears to me that what the OP is saying is true:

If you are standing on the ground, the net force on you is zero. If you are falling, the net force on you is 9.8N/kg.

So, pinochet, how can this be? Hint: standing on the ground.
 
  • #10
Svein said:
I have trouble understanding your question but..
  1. If you are falling, the "force of gravity" is working on you and making you accelerate.
  2. As long as we are talking about things happening in the close vicinity of Earth, the force does not "increase while falling".
  3. When you are on the ground, the ground applies a force on you that is equal to the "force of gravity", but in the opposite direction. Net force on you: 0
jbriggs444 said:
You seem to be under the impression that force is proportional to velocity -- that is, that the faster you are going, the more force is required to keep you going that fast. That turns out not to be correct. Newton's first law says that it takes no force at all to keep a moving object moving.

Newton's second law says that it takes force to make an object accelerate.[/
jbriggs444 said:
You seem to be under the impression that force is proportional to velocity -- that is, that the faster you are going, the more force is required to keep you going that fast. That turns out not to be correct. Newton's first law says that it takes no force at all to keep a moving object moving.

Newton's second law says that it takes force to make an object accelerate.
Alrigh
jbriggs444 said:
That is simply not true. If net force is non-zero and stays the same, you go faster and faster without bound.

Edit: There is a bound if you invoke special relativity. But let's not go there.
jbriggs444 said:
That is simply not true. If net force is non-zero and stays the same, you go faster and faster without bound.

Edit: There is a bound if you invoke special relativity. But let's not go there.
so Newton is wrong if an object
Drakkith said:
That is incorrect. Acceleration is a function of force, as the equation A = F/M states. If there is a net force applied to an object, then there is acceleration, which means that the velocity is changing. A net force of zero means that there is zero acceleration and velocity does not change. This doesn't mean velocity is zero, only that it is is not changing.

If you drop an object near the surface of the Earth, the object accelerates at effectively a constant rate as the net force applied to the object by gravity is very close to constant.
russ_watters said:
I think you guys may be missing the issue based on the grammar issues in the OP. It appears to me that what the OP is saying is true:

If you are standing on the ground, the net force on you is zero. If you are falling, the net force on you is 9.8N/kg.

So, pinochet, how can this be? Hint: standing on the ground.
well
jbriggs444 said:
That is simply not true. If net force is non-zero and stays the same, you go faster and faster without bound.

Edit: There is a bound if you invoke special relativity. But let's not go there.

while on a diving board i according to netwon's third law my weight is coming back to me from the diving platorm netforce on me is zero so no acceleration.but where i get confused is when you jump from the diving platform,and the forces become unbalance so my velocity would become to increase downward.i have trouble seeing how with a constant force of 822 Newtons i can continue to increase velocity downward without force on me increasing as well .well if force don't increase while falling then
pinochet said:
hello I've just started learning physics my question is why do force increase while falling and stay constant while on the ground.i know force is increasing because in free fall things accelerate which according to Newton first law force must also go up. the force of gravity of Earth is 9.8N per kilogram so i figure if my mass is 83.28 kg than the force of gravity should stay 822 Newton which it does if something support your weight so why do thing accelerate i the way i see it free shall should not change there velocity if the only force is gravity which is porportional to mass .
pinochet said:
hello I've just started learning physics my question is why do force increase while falling and stay constant while on the ground.i know force is increasing because in free fall things accelerate which according to Newton first law force must also go up. the force of gravity of Earth is 9.8N per kilogram so i figure if my mass is 83.28 kg than the force of gravity should stay 822 Newton which it does if something support your weight so why do thing accelerate i the way i see it free shall should not change there velocity if the only force is gravity which is porportional to mass .
okay so a constant unbalance force causes a constant rate of accleration and not a constant velocity as i seem to have thought
 
  • #11
pinochet said:
hello I've just started learning physics my question is why do force increase while falling and stay constant while on the ground.i know force is increasing because in free fall things accelerate which according to Newton first law force must also go up. the force of gravity of Earth is 9.8N per kilogram so i figure if my mass is 83.28 kg than the force of gravity should stay 822 Newton which it does if something support your weight so why do thing accelerate i the way i see it free shall should not change there velocity if the only force is gravity which is porportional to mass .
okay i think i get it unbalance forces will cause a constant acceleration and not a constant velocity as i previously thought.
 
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  • #12
pinochet said:
while on a diving board i according to netwon's third law my weight is coming back to me from the diving platorm netforce on me is zero so no acceleration.
This is a frequently seen misunderstanding of the third law. The pressure that the soles of your feet exert on the diving board is equal and opposite to the pressure that the diving board exerts on the soles of your feet. That is all that Newton's third law says.

Your weight (the downward force of gravity on you) is not always equal and opposite to the force of the diving board on the soles of your feet. If you are accelerating upward on the diving board, it is almost certainly because the force of the diving board on the soles of your feet is greater than your weight.
 
  • #13
pinochet said:
so a constant unbalance force causes a constant rate of accleration and not a constant velocity as i seem to have thought

exactly.

As Drakkith posted, F = Ma.

Think about the forces you feel in a car: when accelerating and in contrast when proceeding at a constant velocity.
 

1. What is the acceleration of gravity on Earth?

The acceleration of gravity on Earth is approximately 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s²). This means that for every second an object falls, its speed increases by 9.8 m/s.

2. How does Newton's first law of motion relate to acceleration of gravity?

Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue in motion with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. In the case of acceleration of gravity, the external force acting on an object is the force of gravity, causing it to accelerate towards the center of the Earth.

3. What is the difference between mass and weight in relation to acceleration of gravity?

Mass is the measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight is the measure of the force of gravity acting on an object. The acceleration of gravity is the same for all objects, regardless of their mass, but the weight of an object will vary based on its mass and the strength of the gravitational force acting on it.

4. How does air resistance affect the acceleration of gravity?

Air resistance, also known as drag, is the force that opposes the motion of an object through air. It can affect the acceleration of gravity by slowing down the rate at which an object falls. This is because the upward force of air resistance counteracts the downward force of gravity, resulting in a lower net force and slower acceleration.

5. Can the acceleration of gravity vary on different planets?

Yes, the acceleration of gravity can vary on different planets, as it is dependent on the mass and radius of the planet. For example, the acceleration of gravity on Mars is approximately 3.7 m/s², while on Jupiter it is 24.8 m/s². However, Newton's laws of motion still apply, and objects will still experience the same type of acceleration due to the force of gravity on these planets.

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