Does Speed Increase for Dropped Objects Based on Height?

AI Thread Summary
Dropping two objects from different heights results in them landing simultaneously if released correctly, as their initial velocities differ. When object A falls 1 meter before object B is released, object A has an initial velocity of 4.4 m/s upon reaching the same height as object B. The discussion confirms that an object's speed increases with height due to gravitational acceleration until reaching terminal velocity. The relationship between final velocity, initial velocity, displacement, and acceleration is highlighted, reinforcing that velocity builds up with increased fall distance. Understanding these principles clarifies the dynamics of falling objects in physics.
Learnphysics
Messages
92
Reaction score
0
I'm relatively new to physics.

I know that dropping 2 objects, at the distance from the ground, they will land at the same time.

But what would happen if you dropped objectA at 2 meters height, and held objectB at one meter height, and only let go of objectB, when ObjectA has already fallen 1m. Will they fall at the same time?

basically what I am asking is, does the speed of an object build up, the further it falls?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
No, because for object B, the initial velocity is 0, and for object A, the initial velocity when it gets to the location of object B is 4.4 m/s.

The relationship between final velocity, initial velocity, displacement, and acceleration is

V_f^2=V_i^2-2ad where a = -9.8 m/s^2

So yes, the velocity builds up the further or longer you fall until you reach terminal velocity.
 
Last edited:
thanks, that cleared it up.
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
Back
Top