Unit 18

Horizontal and Vertical Motion

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Essential Questions 4

Review 4

Lesson 18.1: Uniformly Accelerated Motion 5

Objectives 5
Warm-Up 5
Learn about It 6
Worked Examples 16
Key Points 21
Web Links 21
Check Your Understanding 22
Challenge Yourself 23

Lesson 18.2: Free Fall Motion 24

Objectives 24
Warm-Up 24
Learn about It 25
Worked Examples 32
Key Points 36
Web Links 36
Check Your Understanding 37
Challenge Yourself 38

Laboratory Activity 39

Performance Task 41

Self Check 43

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Key Words 43

Key Formula 44

Wrap Up 47

References 47

Answer Key 49

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GRADE 9 | SCIENCE

Unit 18
Horizontal and Vertical
Motion

At present times, cars, bicycles, motorcycles and other modes of transportation are
very essential to your daily life. You take rides on a vehicle every time you want to
go to your school, to the mall, and to other places that are far from you. So, every
day you experience vehicles speeding up and drivers applying brakes as you arrive
and depart from and to your destination. These vehicles experience a constant
increase or decrease in their velocity which results to an acceleration.

The acceleration of a body that is slowing down or speeding up can be

characterized as uniform if it is constant. In this unit, you will look into the behavior
of objects and bodies as it moves in a uniformly accelerated motion.

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 Essential Questions

At the end of this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions.

● What is the acceleration of a body that is speeding up or slowing down?

● How would you describe the motion of an object or body that is moving in
uniform acceleration?
● How does the acceleration of a horizontally moving body differ from a
vertically moving body?
● What factors influence the motion of an object or body under free fall
motion?

Review

● Speed, velocity, and acceleration are descriptors of motion.

○ Speed measures how fast an object can cover a given distance at a
given time.
○ Velocity is the rate of change in displacement of an object. It is simply
a speed with direction.
○ Acceleration, on the other hand, is the change in velocity of an object
at a given time interval.
● Motion graphs are used to represent the motion of an object. There are
three different motion graphs, namely, position-time graph (d-t graph),
velocity-time graph (v-t graph), and acceleration-time graph (a-t graph).
○ The slope of a d-t graph represents the velocity or speed of the object.
○ The slope of a v-t graph quantifies its acceleration.
○ The area under the v-t graph tells about the object’s total displacement
and the area under the a-t graph gives the object’s velocity.

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 Lesson 18.1: Uniformly Accelerated Motion

Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to:
● describe uniformly accelerated motion (UAM);
● derive the equations for uniformly accelerated motion; and
● solve problems using UAM equations.

It is difficult to attain constant acceleration in normal driving conditions. It may be

because of heavy traffic, imposed speed limits and other factors. However, it is still
a common phenomenon in nature. When do we say that an object is under
uniformly accelerated motion?

Warm-Up

Inclined Plane Acceleration

Materials:
● 1-m wooden plank ● meter stick
● books ● stopwatch
● toy car or marble ● marker

Procedure:
1. Set up the plank into an inclined plane by placing a pile of books on one end.
2. Divide the plank into four equal divisions. Since it is 1 meter, you will have
0.25 m divisions on it. Mark each 0.25 m on the plank using your marker.
3. Place the toy car (or marble, depending on the availability) from the top of
the inclined plane and let it move down. Observe its motion.
4. Using your stopwatch, measure and record the time the toy car crosses each
0.25 m mark. Record the time on the table given below.
5. Using the time you have recorded, identify the velocity of the toy as it passes
each 0.25 m mark. You can calculate the velocity by dividing the distance by
time.

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 6. Calculate also the acceleration of the toy car by comparing its change in
velocity in the first and last two 0.25 m marks. Acceleration can be computed
by subtracting the final velocity to initial velocity. Then, divide the answer by
the time taken.

Table 1: Acceleration of the ball in an inclined plane.

Marks Distance (m) Time (s) Velocity (m/s) Acceleration (m/s2)

1 0.25 m

2 0.50 m

3 0.75 m

4 1.00 m

Guide Questions:
1. What have you observed on the motion of the toy car as it moves down the
inclined plane?
2. How would you describe the velocity of the toy car as it moves down the
inclined plane?
3. What happens to the acceleration of the toy car as it moves down the
inclined plane?
4. Is it plausible that the velocity of the car is changing but its acceleration is
not? Why or why not?

Learn about It

Uniformly Accelerated Motion (UAM)

There are several situations where uniform acceleration is observed. As shown in
figure 1, objects falling towards the earth’s surface experience uniform
acceleration. A book sliding on an inclined plane also manifests a uniform increase
in velocity. Uniform acceleration means a constant or a steady acceleration.
Since acceleration is a vector quantity, uniform acceleration denotes that both the
magnitude and the direction of acceleration stays constant.

Uniformly accelerated motion (UAM) occurs when an object experiences an

increase or decrease in velocity at the same rate throughout the motion.

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 a falling apple from the tree a book sliding down the inclined plane
Fig. 1. Situations showing uniformly accelerated motion.

To fully understand the concept of uniform acceleration, take the next situation as
an example. Suppose a car is used in an experiment. It is required to cover a certain
distance in a straight highway for five seconds. As a convention, right is considered
the positive direction while left is considered the negative direction.

A specialized instrument is used to photograph the moving car at each second. The
photographs are then used to analyze the motion of the car in three different
situations which is shown in the figure below. The first set-up is designed to display
the motion of the car moving at constant velocity. The second and third sets of
images are used to illustrate constant acceleration.

Fig. 2. A car moving at a constant velocity which has zero acceleration.

Fig. 2. shows the car moving at constant velocity. It means that at each second, the
car covers equal distances as seen in the equal spaces between each car image.
The red arrows that represent velocity also have equal lengths which mean equal
magnitude. It illustrates that the velocity of the car is the same throughout the
motion. Since there is no change in velocity, acceleration is zero.

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Fig. 3., on the other hand, shows increasing distances between the car images. It
shows that the car covers an increasing distance per second. The red arrows are
also of increasing lengths and the increased amount is the same. This signifies that
the car experienced a uniform increase in velocity. However, the violet arrows are
all equal in length while pointing towards the positive direction. It means that the
car is moving with uniform acceleration in the positive direction or positive
uniform acceleration.

Fig. 3. A car moving at a uniform and positive acceleration.

The car in Fig. 4 also experiences uniform acceleration. But as seen in the image,
the red arrows, as well as the violet arrows, are pointing in opposite directions. In
Fig. 4, the distance between each of the car’s image decreases. The velocity, as
shown by the red arrows, also decreases based on its decreasing lengths but all of
its points in the positive direction. In addition, the violet arrows are of the same
length indicating uniform acceleration. However, these violet arrows pointed in the
opposite direction which means that the car has a uniform but a negative
acceleration. A negative acceleration is often called a deceleration or a
retardation. A negative (-) sign is often used to express a deceleration. However,
you must remember that the negative sign does not mean that its magnitude is
negative because it only signifies direction.

Fig. 4. A car moving at a uniform and negative acceleration.

For simplicity, the next part of the discussion uses Fig. 3 as a reference. Suppose
that the velocities and the displacements of the car for each second in Fig. 3 were
recorded and presented in the table below.

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 Table 2. The velocities and displacements of a car moving at a positive uniform
acceleration.
Time (s) Position (m) Velocity (m/s)

1 5 10

2 20 20

3 45 30

4 80 40

5 125 50

The values from Table 2 can also be presented through d-t, v-t, and a-t motion
graphs.

position-time graph velocity-time graph

acceleration-time graph.
Fig. 5. Motion graphs of a car moving at uniform acceleration.

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Fig. 5a represents the d-t graph of the car experiencing uniformly accelerated
motion. It shows an exponential increase in the displacement covered by the car
with respect to its initial position. Fig. 5b shows a linear increase in velocity from its
starting point. Since the graph is linear it means that the slope is the same
anywhere in the graph. Having a constant slope means the acceleration is also
constant because the slope of a v-t graph represents acceleration. Thus, the car’s
velocity increases at a uniform rate. Finally, Fig. 5c displays a straight horizontal line
at 10 m/s2. It indicates that at any time interval, the car is accelerating at 10 m/s2
which only proves that the car is experiencing uniform acceleration.

Uniformly Accelerated Motion Equations

In the past lessons, you learned that the slope or the gradient of a v-t graph
represents the acceleration of the object. Therefore, acceleration can be
expressed using the equation below.

Since and , the equation for acceleration can be

expressed as:

Also, let and be any arbitrary time . Using the said values, acceleration is
equivalent to

where is the final velocity, is the initial velocity, and is the time interval. It
can also be rearranged to get an expression for final velocity

(Eq. 1.1)

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where and are the final and initial velocities in meter per second (m/s), is
the acceleration in meter per second squared (m/s ), and is the time in seconds
2

(s).

Eq. 1.1 shows that the final velocity of the object is affected by the object’s initial
velocity, acceleration, and time. Final velocity can be predicted as long as initial
velocity, acceleration, and time are given.

You can try to use Eq. 1.1 to solve for the car’s velocity at each time interval and you
will get the same values presented in Table 2. Notice that the velocity increases
uniformly by 10 m/s at each time interval. This linear trend is also shown in the v-t
graph in Fig. 5b. The trend indicates that the velocity increases uniformly with time
which is evident for objects moving at constant acceleration.

Since the velocity is either increasing or decreasing uniformly at the same rate, the
average velocity can be calculated by adding the initial and the final velocity and
dividing it by two as shown in the equation below:

(Eq. 1.2)

where is average velocity and and are the initial and final velocities.
These are all expressed in meter per second (m/s).

You must be cautious in using this equation because remember that if the velocity
is not increasing or decreasing uniformly anymore there is no reason why the
average velocity has to be exactly halfway between the initial and the final velocity.
This only means that Eq. 1.2 is only true if the acceleration is constant.

Recall that in your past lessons, the equation for average velocity can be used to
compute for the displacement of an object. This is provided that the object is
moving at a uniform acceleration.

Substituting Eq. 1.2 to the equation above, you will now have

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 (Eq. 1.3)

where is displacement in meters (m), and are the initial and final velocities
in meter per second (m/s) and t is the time in seconds (s).

To get another equation for displacement , substitute the equation for vf (Eq. 1.1)
into Eq. 1.3, then simplify.

(Eq. 1.4)

Eqs. 1.3 and 1.4 are important because it can be used to calculate for the
displacement of an object at uniform acceleration. Remember that in the discussion
about motion graphs, the area under the graph of a velocity-time graph represents
the displacement of the car.

Fig. 6. A velocity-time (v-t) graph which shows that the area under the graph is
equivalent to the area of a triangle.

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As clearly shown in Fig. 7 below, it is evident that the area under the graph is
equivalent to the area of a triangle. Therefore, the formula to solve area of a
triangle can be used to solve for the area under a v-t graph.

Fig. 7. The area under the v-t graph is equivalent to the area of a triangle. The base
is equivalent to 5 s, while its height is equivalent to 50 m/s.

Computing the area of the triangle on the velocity-time graph,

The area of 125 m is also equivalent to the total displacement of the car at
presented in Table 2. Now, use Eqs. 1.3 and 1.4 to calculate for the car’s total
displacement and compare it with the area under the v-t graph.

Using Equation 1.3: Using Equation 1.4:

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As observed in the solution, both equations resulted to 125 m as the total
displacement. That is why Eqs. 1.3 and 1.4 are essential since there is no need to
graph and compute for the area in every UAM problem you encounter. However, if
you are having a hard time visualizing a problem, it is suggested to sketch at least a
simple motion graph or a diagram.

Lastly, another equation can be derived if time is not given in the problem. Simply
use Eq. 1.1 to solve for .

Substitute the equation for time into Eq. 1.3:

Then simplify the equation.

Rearrange the equation to get

(Eq. 1.5)

where and are the initial and final velocities in meter per second (m/s), is
the acceleration in meter per second squared (m/s ), and is the time in second (s).
2

Eq. 1.5 can also be manipulated to solve for the displacement as long as other
values are given.

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There are now four equations that can be used in solving one-dimensional
problems experiencing uniform acceleration. The four UAM equations are Eqs. 1.1,
1.3, 1.4 and 1.5. Let us rename them as Equations 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, for
easier reference in the next lesson.

Below is a table of UAM equations and the list of variables present in the equation.
A checkmark (✔) is placed on the variables present in the equation, while a ✖ mark
on the variables that cannot be found in the equation. This is useful especially in
determining what equation to be used in solving a UAM problem.

Table 3. Uniformly accelerated motion equations and its variables.

Equation
Equations
No.

1 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖

2 ✔ ✔ ✖ ✔ ✔

3 ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

4 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖ ✔

The convenience of using these equations depends on the given quantities and the
unknown in the problem. When solving problems for UAM, always list first all the
given quantities and choose the best equation among these four. Remember that
you can only use these equations if you are dealing with problems involving
constant acceleration, such as free fall and projectile motions, otherwise, you can
only use the general equations for displacement, velocity, and acceleration.

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 Worked Examples

Example 1
Starting from rest, a brick slides along a straight line down a polished roof with a
constant acceleration of magnitude 4.9 m/s2. How fast is the brick moving when it
reaches the edge of the roof 0.90 s later?

Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the final velocity (vf ) of the brick.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial velocity, acceleration of the brick, and the time of travel are
given.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer.

The brick is moving 4.41 m/s when it reaches the edge after 0.90 s later.

Let us Practice
Another brick slides along a straight line down a polished roof with a constant
acceleration of magnitude 3.5 m/s2. How fast is the brick moving when it reaches
the edge of the roof 2.00 s later assuming it started from rest?

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Example 2
What is the displacement of a plane that experiences uniform acceleration from
70 m/s to 95 m/s in 15 seconds?

Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the displacement (d) of the plane.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial and final velocities of the plane, and the time traveled by the
plane are given.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer.

The displacement of the plane experiencing uniform acceleration is 1237.5 m.

Let us Practice
What is the displacement of a car that experiences uniform acceleration from
40 m/s to 20 m/s in 8 seconds?

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Example 3
A car moves at 10 m/s and coasts up a hill with a constant acceleration of –1.5 m/s2.
What is its displacement after 8 seconds?

Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the displacement (d) of the car.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial velocity, acceleration of the car, and the time traveled are given.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer.

The displacement of the car coasting up a hill is 32 m.

Let us Practice
A bicycle moves at 5 m/s and coasts up a hill with a constant acceleration of
–0.2 m/s2. What is its displacement after 20 seconds?

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Example 4
A Formula 1 car racer starts from rest and accelerates at 9 m/s2 while covering a
distance of 250 m. What is the velocity of the car at the end of the race?

Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the displacement (d) of the car.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial velocity and acceleration of the car as well as the distance it
has traveled.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer.

The velocity of the car at the end of the race is 67.08 m/s.

Let us Practice
Another car racer starts from rest and accelerates at 5 m/s2 while covering a
distance of 100 m. What is the velocity of the car at the end of the race?

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Example 5
Cheetahs are considered as the fastest land animal. One cheetah observed in the
wild started running from rest and increased its velocity uniformly until it reached
99 km/h. It covered 40 m while running. What is its acceleration? How much time
will it take to cover the said displacement?

Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the acceleration and time the car has
traveled.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial and final velocities of the car, and the distance it has traveled
are given.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

(a) (b)

Step 4 Since the given final velocity is in kilometers per hour (km/h), it should
be converted to meters per second (m/s).

The final velocity in also equivalent to is 27.5 m/s.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

(a) (b)

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Step 5 Find the answer.
(a) (b)

The acceleration of the cheetah is 9.45 m/s2 while the time it will take to cover the
40-m displacement is 2.91 s.

Let us Practice
Another cheetah observed in the wild started running from rest and increases its
velocity uniformly until it reached 75 km/h. It covered 52 m while running. What is
its acceleration? How much time will it take to cover the said displacement?

Key Points

● Uniformly accelerated motion (UAM) occurs when an object experiences

an increase or decrease in velocity at the same rate throughout the motion.
● Uniform accelerated motion can be described using the magnitude and
direction of the velocity and acceleration of the body.
○ If there is no change in velocity, the acceleration of the body is zero.
○ If the acceleration and velocity are towards the same direction, the
body is moving with positive uniform acceleration.
○ If the acceleration and velocity are in opposite directions, the body is
moving with negative uniform acceleration.

Web Links

For further information on uniformly accelerated motion of a body, you can check
the following web links:
● Read this article to understand more the real-life applications
of the concepts of uniformly accelerated motion of a body.
Science Clarified. 2018. ‘Kinematics and Dynamics Real-Life Applications.’
http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Chemistry-Vol-3-Physics-Vol-1/Ki
nematics-and-Dynamics-Real-life-applications.html

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 ● Watch this video to learn more about uniformly accelerated
motion of a body.
Flipping Physics. 2014. ‘Understanding Uniformly Accelerated Motion.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQrz4dfxDw&t=172s

Check Your Understanding

A. Read and analyze the following statements given. Provide the correct word or
phrase to complete the statement.
1. ______________ occurs when there is a constant increase or decrease in velocity
per time interval.
2. An object moving at a constant velocity has ______________ acceleration.
3. A car moving with a uniform acceleration shows ______________ displacements
during successive time intervals.
4. The slope of a velocity-time graph will give the ______________ of the object.
5. An object moving at constant acceleration displays a zero ______________ in a-t
graph.
6. A body that has a velocity and acceleration in opposite directions is said to
have _____________________ acceleration.
7. A body that has a velocity and acceleration in the same directions is said to
have _____________________ acceleration.
8. A ______________ sign is used to represent deceleration of a moving body.
9. The area under the v-t graph which is equivalent to the area of a triangle
represents the ___________________ of a body.
10. When a body is started moving from rest, it is said that its initial velocity is
equal to _____________.

B. Read and analyze the problems given below. Show your pertinent solution.
1. Alex is learning to ride a bike. He started from rest and moved at a constant
acceleration of 0.30 m/s2 for 5.0 s. How far did he cover while riding the bike?
2. A deer moving at constant acceleration covers the distance of 50.0 m
between two points in 7.0 s. Its speed as it passes the second point is 10 m/s.
What is its initial speed?
3. A car racer was initially at rest. He accelerated uniformly at 11 m/s2 for a
distance of 200 m. How long did it take the car to cover this distance?
4. A police car starts at rest and speeds up at 4 m/s2 after the traffic light turns

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 green. How far did it cover if it is traveling at 25 m/s?
5. A man is initially running at a speed of 3 m/s when he encountered a steep
hill. He started to slow down at a constant rate for 10.0 s and eventually
comes to a stop. What was his acceleration?

Challenge Yourself

Answer the following questions.

1. If you were presented with a table of values for velocities of an object at
various times, how will you know whether the acceleration is constant?
2. Under constant acceleration, the average velocity of an object is the sum of
its initial and final velocities divided by two. Would this still hold true even if
the acceleration is not constant? Explain your answer.
3. If the velocity of a body is constant non-zero in magnitude, does it necessarily
mean that its acceleration is also equal to zero? Why or why not?
4. If the acceleration of a body is constant, does it necessarily mean that its
velocity is also constant?
5. Is it possible to have zero acceleration and zero velocity at the same instant?
Why or why not? Cite examples to justify your answer.

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 Lesson 18.2: Free Fall Motion

Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to:
● describe the motion of freely falling bodies; and
● solve free fall problems using UAM equations

The most common example of uniformly accelerated motion is an object falling

toward the earth’s surface. How do objects in free fall behave? Do all objects fall
at the same rate?

Warm-Up
Investigating Free Fall
Materials:
● hardbound book
● paper
● meter stick

Procedure:
1. Measure a height of 1 meter from the ground using your meter stick.
2. With the help of one of your classmate, drop the hardbound book and the
paper at the height of 1 meter at the same time. Observe what will happen.
3. Drop again the objects with the paper placed directly under the hardbound
book. Observe what happens.

Guide Questions:
1. What happened when the hardbound book and paper were dropped
simultaneously at the same height? Why do you think this happened?
2. What happened when the paper placed directly under the book was
dropped? Why do you think this happened?

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 Learn about It

Freely Falling Bodies

Free fall motion has baffled scientists in ancient times. During the 4th century B.C.,
Aristotle suggested that heavier bodies fall faster than lighter ones. Nineteen
centuries later, Galileo proposed a contrasting idea about free fall motion.
According to him, all objects experienced the same downward acceleration when
neglecting the effect of air resistance. Thus, all objects dropped at the same instant,
regardless of their weight and size, will all fall at the same time.

Galileo Galilei is an Italian physicist and

astronomer who has a wide range of contribution
in science. It includes the establishment of the
concept of relative motion and the discovery of
four of Jupiter’s moons. One of his most important
contributions is his formulation of both concepts
and calculations governing free fall motion.

He used a systematic experiment using inclined

planes. In his set up, he rolled balls in an incline
and measured the distances it covered at each
successive interval. He used an inclined plane for
him to reduce the acceleration and accurately
measure those distances. Measuring it is not
possible if he simply dropped an object at a
certain height since the object will fall rapidly. He
repeated the procedure while increasing the angle of the incline. His last setup
involved a ball rolled in a vertical incline which is similar to a free falling object.
Galileo concluded that an object falls at a constant downward acceleration
regardless of its weight or size.

Free fall motion is any motion of an object or body solely influenced by gravity. It
means that the effect of air resistance is negligible and therefore has an
insignificant effect on the falling object. On Earth, however, free fall is an
idealization since there is always some air resistance that will also act on the object
or the body.

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 Fig. 8. Galileo used varying angles of inclined planes which helped him formulate
the concept about free fall motion. The last setup includes rolling a ball in a vertical
incline which produces a condition similar to a freely falling object.

To clearly understand this, take the next situation as an example. Suppose that a
person stood high on a cliff and dropped a rock from that height. Assume also that
the velocity of the rock was measured at each second while it falls. For this
situation, the effect of air resistance is negligible and only gravity acts on the rock.

Fig. 9. A rock dropped from a cliff has increasing velocity at a uniform rate given
that air resistance is neglected.

In addition, the downward direction is considered as the negative direction while

the upward direction is considered the positive direction. This sign convention
will be used in this lesson and for the next unit.

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As the rock falls, the distance between the rocks increases. Notice that the distance
increases while the time interval remains unchanged. This means that the stone
travels faster and faster as it falls down. Thus, indicating an increase in velocity.
Since velocity is a vector quantity, it has both magnitude and direction.

Remember that the negative sign only signifies the downward direction not the
magnitude of a velocity. Keep in mind the sign convention since it will largely help in
problem solving. The velocity of the rock at each time interval is shown above. The
values in the table above also display an increasing velocity at each time interval.

Calculate the acceleration of the rock using the equation below.

At to : At to :

If acceleration is calculated until , you will still get the same value. Yet again,
the negative value only indicates the downward direction of acceleration. This
constant acceleration of a freely falling body is called the acceleration due to
gravity or the free-fall acceleration, denoted by the letter g. Since it was defined
that upward is positive and downward is negative, a = –g = –9.8 m/s2. Note that this
value of g is true near the Earth’s surface. The value varies slightly with the distance
from the earth’s surface because the Earth’s gravitational pull also varies. However,
the variation is less than 1% which is very small to consider in computations. The
value decreases as you move away from Earth and out into space.

Earth’s gravity always pulls downward, so the acceleration due to gravity is always
downward and constant in magnitude and is independent of its speed. This is
always true regardless whether the object is moving up, down, or is at rest. If the
object is moving downward, the acceleration due to gravity makes it speed up while
if the object is moving upward, the acceleration due to gravity makes the object to
slow down.

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Air Resistance
Air resistance or sometimes referred to
as air friction is a frictional force which
opposes the motion of a falling object.
Thus, its direction is always opposite to
the direction of the object’s motion. It
increases with the speed of the object.
The faster the object is falling, the
higher the air resistance. It also
increases with the surface area of a
falling object. It means that the larger
the surface area, the higher the air
resistance. Imagine that air is composed
of several air molecules. As an object
falls, these molecules collide at its
surface. Therefore, the faster and the
larger the surface area of an object, the
more air molecules will hit the object
per second and oppose its motion.

The effect of air resistance can be observed by dropping a paper from a certain
height. Make sure that one paper is crumpled while the other one is flat. Drop the
papers at the same time from the same height. Which of the two will reach the
ground first? It will be the crumpled paper. This is because, on Earth, it is not only
gravity that affects a falling object but air resistance as well. A flat paper has a larger
surface area than the crumpled paper. Thus, the flat paper experienced a greater
air resistance than the crumpled paper. That is why even if they have the same
mass, the flat paper falls slower than the crumpled one.

How about when a hammer and a feather are dropped at the same height? Which
will reach the ground first? Does mass affect the acceleration of a falling body?
If you perform the experiment on earth, the hammer will reach the ground first
while the feather will fall at a slower rate. This is again due to the effect of air
resistance.

To test if the concept of free fall is true, the same experiment was done by an
astronaut David Scott on August 2, 1971. This was done on the moon during the
end of the last Apollo 15 moon walk. The hammer and the feather fell at the same
time with exactly the same acceleration. Moon has essentially no atmosphere.

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Therefore, there is no air resistance that opposes the motion of falling objects. It
only proves that without air resistance, all objects regardless of their size and
mass fall with the same acceleration.

with negligible air resistance with air resistance

Fig. 11. A hammer falls faster than a feather if there is an air resistance. However,
once air resistance is removed, both objects will fall at the same rate.

Since free fall is an example of a uniformly accelerated motion, UAM equations are
applicable for free fall problems. But this time instead of a, we will use g since free
fall motion is only affected by gravity and is always constant. Since falling only
applies in a vertical position, d will also be replaced with y.

Below is a table of free fall equations and the list of variables present in the
equation. A checkmark (✔) is placed on the variables present in the equation, while
a ✖ mark on the variables that cannot be found in the equation. This is useful
especially in determining what equation is to be used in solving a free fall problem.

29
In table 4, vf is the final velocity in meter per second (m/s), vi is the initial velocity in
meter per second (m/s) also, t is the time in seconds (s), g is the acceleration due to
gravity in meters per second squared (m/s2) , and y is the vertical displacement or
distance in meters (m).

Table 4. Free fall motion equations and its variables.

Equation
Equations
No.

1 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖

2 ✔ ✔ ✖ ✔ ✔

3 ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

4 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖ ✔

Objects dropped from a certain height were used as a common example for free
fall motion. How about objects thrown downward and thrown upward?

To answer this systematically, free fall can be divided into three cases. Case 1
occurs when an object is simply dropped from rest at a certain height. An object
dropped from a certain height experiences constant acceleration which is equal to
the value of g. Its initial velocity is automatically equal to zero and considered to
start from rest.

The same concept applies for Case 2 wherein the object is thrown downward. Since
it is still only affected by gravity, it also experiences constant acceleration. It is still
covered by the definition of free fall. The only difference from case 1 is that its
initial velocity has a value and is not equal to zero.

For objects thrown upward (Case 3), they still experience free fall. As an object
moves upward, its velocity decreases until it reaches the maximum height. At its
maximum height, the object will stop for a split second and starts to go down
experiencing the same acceleration but this time with increasing velocity. The
velocity of the object when it moves upward is positive since it is in the +y-direction.
However, once it starts to move downward, its velocity and displacement become

30
negative since it is now parallel to the –y-direction. At the maximum height where
it stopped, the velocity of the object is equal to zero.

Fig. 12. An object dropped from rest, thrown downward with an initial velocity, or
thrown upward experience free fall motion.

Worked Examples

Example 1
A student accidentally dropped her pen from the second floor of the school
building which is 5 m from the ground. How fast is it moving when it hits the
ground?

31
Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the final velocity (vf ) of the pen.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial velocity and acceleration due to gravity as well as the height
are given.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer.

Remember that you must take the negative root because the direction of the
velocity of the pen is downward. The velocity of the pen as it hits the ground is 9.90
m/s downward.

Let us Practice
Another student accidentally dropped her pen from the fourth floor of the school
building which is 14 m from the ground. How fast is it moving when it hits the
ground?

Example 2
A tennis ball is thrown downward at a speed of 2 m/s. If its velocity just before it
hits the ground is 7.9 m/s, from what height was it thrown?

32
Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the height (y) from which the tennis ball was
thrown.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The initial and final velocities of the tennis ball as well as the
acceleration due to gravity are given. Take note that the initial and final
velocities of the ball are negative since it is directed downward.

Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer.

The tennis ball was thrown from a height of 2.98 m. The negative sign only indicates
the downward direction of the motion of the ball.

Let us Practice
A golf ball is thrown downward at a speed of 10 m/s. If its velocity just before it
hits the ground is 5.6 m/s, from what height was it thrown?

33
Example 3
Ellen decided to flip a coin to determine which of her homework she should do first.
Assuming that the coin was flipped straight up, (a) what was its velocity as it leaves
Ellen’s hand if it reached a maximum height of 0.30 m? (b) If Ellen caught the coin at
the same height she released it, how long was it in the air?

Solution
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the initial velocity (vi ) of the coin when it
was released and its total time (t ) of travel in the air.

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The final velocity at the maximum height, the acceleration due to
gravity as well as the height are given.

Since this problem is under case 3,

the velocity at the maximum height
is 0. This velocity can serve as the
final velocity if the upward motion
is considered. However, it can also
serve as the initial velocity when the
downward motion of the coin is
used. It is because the coin moved
up first then went back down.
Therefore, there are two situations
that you can use to solve the
problem. Note that this solution is
just one of the different approaches
you can use.

In this solution, the velocity at the maximum height 0 m/s was

assigned as the final velocity. Since it was mentioned in the problem
that Ellen caught the coin at the same height as she released it, the
time taken for the coin to go up is equal to the time taken for the coin
to go back down to Ellen’s hand.

34
Step 3 Write the working equation.
(a) (b)

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

(a) (b)

Step 5 Find the answer.

For (a) , which is directed upward because of its positive

sign.

For (b), the time has to be multiplied by two because total time was
asked. 0.247 s is only for the coin’s upward motion.

The velocity of the coin when it was released is 2.42 m/s, upward. It stayed in the air
for a total of 0.49 s.

Let us Practice
Ben decided to flip a coin to determine which of his homework he should do first.
Assuming that the coin was flipped straight up, (a) what was its velocity as it
leaves Ben’s hand if it reached a maximum height of 0.80 m? (b) If Ellen caught
the coin at the same height he released it, how long was it in the air?

35
 Key Points

● Free fall motion is any motion of an object or body solely influenced by

gravity.
● A freely falling body experiences acceleration due to gravity, denoted by the
letter g. Since the direction of the acceleration is downward, the value of g is
–9.8 m/s2.
● All objects regardless of their sizes and mass fall with the same acceleration
if air resistance is neglected.
● Air resistance is a frictional force which opposes the motion of a falling
object. It increases with the speed and the surface area of the object.
● Free fall motion applies to an object dropped from rest, an object thrown
downward, and object thrown upward.

Web Links

For further information on free fall motion of a body, you can check the following
web links:

● Read this article to understand more about the behavior of

freely falling bodies.
The Physics Classroom. 2018. ‘Introduction to Free Fall.’
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-5/Introduction

● Watch this video to learn more about the motion of freely

falling bodies in a vacuum.
BBC. 2014. ‘Brian Cox visits the world's biggest vacuum chamber - Human Universe:
Episode 4 Preview - BBC Two.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs

36
 Check Your Understanding

A. Read and analyze the following statements given. Write true if the statement is
correct. Otherwise, write false.
1. An object in free fall is influenced by both air resistance and gravity.
2. All objects regardless of their mass and size fall with the same acceleration.
3. Freefall is an example of a uniformly accelerated motion.
4. As the surface area of a falling object increases, its air resistance also
increases.
5. An object dropped from a height has an initial velocity equal to zero.
6. The value of the acceleration due to gravity changes a lot as you go higher.
7. Freefall is true regardless of whether the objects are going up or thrown
upward.
8. Heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones in a vacuum or empty space
without air.
9. As an object falls with constant acceleration, its velocity increases.
10. The sign of the velocity of an object is negative as it falls down.

B. Read and analyze the problems given below. Show your pertinent solution.
1. An eraser was dropped from the top of a high building. It took 5 s to reach
the ground. What was the eraser’s speed just before hitting the ground?
2. Klaire accidentally dropped her cell phone while she was texting. If the cell
phone was dropped 0.5 m from the ground, how long does it take for the cell
phone to hit the ground?
3. Gerald throws a ball upward with an initial speed of 6 m/s. What maximum
height will the ball reach before falling back down?
4. Suppose a boy dropped a stone from a rooftop of a high-rise building. How
far has it fallen after 2 s?
5. Calculate the time it took for a ball to reach its maximum height if it was
thrown upward with an initial velocity of 20 m/s.

37
 Challenge Yourself

Answer the following questions.

1. If you were presented with a table of values for velocities of an object at
various times, how will you know whether the acceleration is constant?
2. Under constant acceleration, the average velocity of an object is the sum of
its initial and final velocities divided by two. Would this still hold true even if
the acceleration is not constant? Explain your answer.
3. A student throws a baseball straight up in the air so that it rises and reaches
a maximum height. Is the magnitude of the acceleration greater while it is
being thrown or after it leaves the student’s hand?
4. Why is a parachute helpful to skydivers?
5. Is it possible for a body to have zero acceleration and velocity at the same
time? Why or why not?

38
 Laboratory Activity

Activity 18.1
Acceleration of Freely Falling Bodies

Objectives
At the end of this laboratory activity, the students should be able to:
● describe the motion of freely falling bodies;
● determine the acceleration due to the gravity of falling bodies; and
● compare the acceleration due to the gravity of heavy and light objects.

Materials and Equipment

● basketball
● marble
● meter stick
● stopwatch
● platform balance

Procedure
1. Place the basketball and the marble on the top of a table.
2. Measure the height of the table using a meter stick. Take note of your
measurement.
3. Measure the mass of the basketball and the marble using a platform
balance. Take note of your measurements.
4. Drop the basketball from the top of the table. Measure the time it takes for
the ball to reach the floor. Record the time in the table given below. Do five
trials for this ball.
5. Drop the marble this time from the top of the table. Measure the time it
takes for the marble to reach the floor. Record the time in the table given
below. Do also five trials for this object.
6. Calculate the acceleration due to gravity of the basketball and marble for

each trial. You will use the equation, to compute for the value
of the acceleration due to gravity.
7. Calculate also the average of the acceleration due to gravity computed for
each trial on both the basketball and marble.

39
Data and Results

Table 1. Acceleration due to gravity of the basketball.

Trial Drop Height Time (s) Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)

Average

Table 2. Acceleration due to gravity of the marble.

Trial Drop Height Time (s) Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)

Average

Table 3. Comparison of the acceleration due to gravity of basketball and marble.

Mass Average acceleration due to gravity
Object
(kg) (m/s2)

basketball

marble

40
Guide Questions
1. Does the mass of the marble and basketball affect their acceleration as they
were dropped from the table? Why or why not?
2. Are there changes in the acceleration due to gravity of the marble in each
trial? If there is a change, why do you think this happened?
3. Are there changes in the acceleration due to gravity of the basketball in each
trial? If there is a change, why do you think this happened?
4. What do you think will happen if you did the experiment on a vacuum?
Would you produce the same results? Why or why not?
5. If the experiment was held on another planet such as Mars, would you
produce the same results?

Performance Task

Egg Drop Competition

Goal
● You are to create an apparatus that will protect a raw chicken egg from
breaking after falling from a certain height.

Role
● You are a student physicist who wants to build an apparatus for a raw
chicken that can induce more air resistance and at the same time protect it
as it falls down at a certain height.

Audience
● Your audience would be the science teachers, your classmates and some of
the school administrators.

Situation
● You are to prove by applying the concepts of freefall that a raw chicken egg
can be protected from breaking upon dropping it from a certain height by
creating an apparatus that will induce more air resistance as it falls and at
the same time will serve as a protection or shell for the raw egg.

41
Product, Performance, and Purpose
● The activity will be done as follows:
1. The apparatus should only be made of the following materials:
○ 10 pieces of straw (straight or bent)
○ 3 pieces of regular sized styrofoam cup
○ 1 piece of sandwich bag
○ 10 pieces of popsicle sticks of any size
○ 5 pieces of cotton balls
○ 5 pieces of rubber bands
○ 10 pieces of toothpicks
2. Only liquid based glue or adhesives can be used in building the
apparatus. Scotch tapes or any kind of tape and glue stick cannot
be used. Moreover, nothing can be glued on the raw egg itself.
3. No parachutes or any forms of it can be done on your apparatus.

Standards and Criteria

● Your performance will be graded by the following rubric.

Below Needs Successful Exemplary

Criteria Expectations, Improvement Performance Performance
0% to 49% 50% to 74% 75% to 99% 100%

Apparatus The design is The design is Mostly detailed Fully detailed

vague, poorly somehow design with design with
Design.
illustrated and complete with complete details complete details
incomplete in only minor details and proper labels. and proper labels.
details. and labels.

Apparatus Model is Model is somehow Model is mostly Model is complete

incomplete and complete and complete and and shows
model.
poorly shows a good shows a strong excellent
constructed. construction. construction. construction.

Creativity. Model and design Some model and Most model and Model and design
were not neatly design parts were design parts were parts were neatly
done and no color neatly done but neatly done with done with color
labeling is not minor color color labeling. labeling.
presented. labels.

Application of Showed no Some concepts of Mostly showed all Showed all

concepts of uniform circular concepts and concepts and
Science
uniform circular motion is evident calculations of calculations of
Concepts. motion. with minor uniform circular uniform circular
mistakes in motion. motion.
calculations.

42
 Self Check

After studying this unit, can you now do the following?

Check I can…

describe uniformly accelerated motion (UAM)

derive the equations for uniformly accelerated motion

solve problems using UAM equations

describe the motion of freely falling bodies

solve free fall problems using UAM equations

Key Words

Air resistance This is sometimes referred to as air friction which is a

frictional force which opposes the motion of a falling
object.
Deceleration It refers to negative acceleration or also called as
retardation.
Free fall motion It is any motion of an object or body solely influenced by
gravity. It means that the effect of air resistance is
negligible and therefore has an insignificant effect on the
falling object.
Uniformly This occurs when an object experiences an increase or
accelerated motion decrease in velocity at the same rate throughout the
(UAM) motion.

43
 Key Formula

Concept Formula Description

where: This formula can be used

● vf is final velocity in to solve for final and
meters per second (m/s) initial velocities,
● vi is initial velocity in acceleration and time if
meters per second (m/s) the acceleration is
● a is acceleration in constant.
meters per second
squared (m/s2)
● t is time in seconds (s)

This formula can be used

where: to solve for
Uniformly ● d is displacement in displacement, final and
Accelerated meters (m) initial velocities and
Motion (UAM) ● vi is initial velocity in time if the acceleration is
meters per second (m/s) constant.
● vf is final velocity in
meters per second (m/s)
● t is time in seconds (s)

where: This formula can be used

● d is displacement in to solve for
meters (m) displacement, initial
● vi is initial velocity in velocity, acceleration
meters per second (m/s) and time if the
● t is time in seconds (s) acceleration is constant.
● a is acceleration in
meters per second
squared (m/s2)

44
 where: This formula can be used
● vf is final velocity in to solve for final and
meters per second (m/s) initial velocities,
● vi is initial velocity in acceleration and
meters per second (m/s) displacement if the
● a is acceleration in acceleration is constant.
meters per second
squared (m/s2)
● d is displacement in
meters (m)

where: This formula can be used

● vf is final velocity in to solve for final and
meters per second (m/s) initial velocities,
● vi is initial velocity in acceleration and time if
meters per second (m/s) the acceleration is
● g is acceleration in constant.
meters per second
squared (m/s2)
● t is time in seconds (s)

Free Fall Motion This formula can be used

where: to solve for vertical
● y is vertical displacement displacement or height,
or height in meters (m) final and initial
● vi is initial velocity in velocities and time if the
meters per second (m/s) acceleration is constant.
● vf is final velocity in
meters per second (m/s)
● t is time in seconds (s)

This formula can be used

to solve for vertical
displacement or height,
where: initial velocity,
● d is vertical acceleration and time if
the acceleration is

45
 displacement or height in constant.
meters (m)
● vi is initial velocity in
meters per second (m/s)
● t is time in seconds (s)
● g is acceleration in
meters per second
squared (m/s2)

where: This formula can be used

● vf is final velocity in to solve for final and
meters per second (m/s) initial velocities,
● vi is initial velocity in acceleration and
meters per second (m/s) vertical displacement or
● g is acceleration in height if the acceleration
meters per second is constant.
squared (m/s2)
● y is vertical displacement
or height in meters (m)

Wrap Up

Uniformly Accelerated Motion and Free Fall Motion of Object

Uniformly Accelerated Motion Free fall Motion

It is the uniform increase or decrease in It refers to any motion solely influenced
velocity at a certain time interval. by gravity

46
 References

Faughn, Jerry S. and Raymond A. Serway. 2006. Serway’s College Physics, 7th Edition.
Singapore: Brooks/Cole

Gardose-Figueras, Geraldine. 2009. Science Fundamentals for High School IV:

Physics. Philippines: Trinitas Publishing Inc.

Hewitt, Paul G. 2002. Conceptual Physics, 9th Edition. Singapore: Pearson Education

Young, Hugh D., Roger A. Freedman, and A. Lewis Ford. 2009. University Physics,
12th Edition. Singapore: Pearson Education

Zitzewitz, Paul W.,David G. Haase and Kathleen A. Harper. 2013. Physics: Principles
and Problems. United States: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

47
 Answer Key

Lesson 18.1: Uniformly Accelerated Motion

Let us Practice
1.
2. d = 240 m
3. d = 20 m
4. vf = 31.62 m/s
5. t = 4.99 s ; a = 4.17 m/s2

Lesson 18.2: Free Fall Motion

Let us Practice
1. vf = -16.57 m/s
2. y = - 3.50 m
3. vf = 3.96 m/s; t = 0.80 s

48