Gravity is the force that pulls objects towards the center of the Earth. As an object falls, it accelerates due to the force of gravity. This means that the speed of the object will increase as it falls.
According to Newton's Second Law of Motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied to it, and inversely proportional to its mass. Therefore, the mass of an object does not affect its speed as it falls without friction.
Air resistance, also known as air friction, is the force that opposes the motion of an object through the air. As the speed of a falling object increases, so does the force of air resistance. This means that air resistance can slow down the speed of a falling object, but it is not a significant factor in the absence of other external forces.
According to the Law of Universal Gravitation, the force of gravity between two objects is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that as an object falls, the force of gravity increases and the acceleration decreases. Ultimately, the object will reach a terminal velocity where the force of gravity is balanced by the force of air resistance, and the object will no longer accelerate.
The speed of a falling object can be calculated using the equation v = g × t, where v is the velocity (speed), g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s² on Earth), and t is the time in seconds that the object has been falling. This equation assumes no air resistance or other external forces acting on the object.