Edexcel GCSE Physics · 1PH0
Specification 2.13 · Paper 1
Revise: Acceleration due to GravityAn object is in free fall when gravity is the only force acting on it, so effects such as air resistance are ignored.
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
GCSE Physics · key term
Motion in which gravity is the only force acting on an object.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Specification 2.13 · Paper 1
Revise: Acceleration due to GravityAn object is in free fall when gravity is the only force acting on it, so effects such as air resistance are ignored.
Specification P2.3i · Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Higher)
An object is in free fall when gravity is the only force acting on it. This is an idealised description: air resistance must be absent or small enough to ignore. A dropped object in a vacuum is therefore in free fall, while a parachutist experiencing substantial air resistance is not in ideal free fall.
Do not say that an object falling at constant velocity is in free fall. Constant velocity means zero acceleration, whereas ideal free fall has a downward acceleration.
Create a free account to read GCSE Physics revision notes for your exam board and track your progress.