If I throw something upwards will the gravity slow it down faster?

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So idk if this makes sense so I’m going to use numbers. If I take something, and shoot it let’s say a bullet. Into the air. The first second it will be slowing down at 9.81m/s if I’m not mistaking because gravity is pulling it down that fast. At the 2nd second. Will gravity be pulling it down at 9.81m/s still or will it go to 19.62m/s? Like will the speed be stacking essentially for how fast it slows down?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Speed is distance per time. Acceleration is speed per time, or distance per time per time. If speed increases at a constant rate, acceleration is constant.

If you drop something off a building, it starts off at rest. It is immediately and constantly accelerated by Earth’s gravity at 9.81 m/s^(2) (approximately), meaning its velocity will increase by 9.81 m/s every second. After 1 second, it will be falling at 9.81 m/s. After 2 seconds, it will be falling at 19.62 m/s. After 3 seconds, it will be falling at 29.43 m/s. It will keep accelerating like this until it is stopped by some other force.

An easy way to think about it is to imagine the relationship between distance and speed instead of speed and acceleration. They’re the same thing. Imagine a ball rolling along a surface. If there are no forces, it’ll keep going at the same speed forever, but the distance it covers will increase at a constant rate. At the beginning, it will have covered 0 metres. After 1 second, it will have covered, for example, 10 metres. After 2 seconds, it will have covered 20 metres. Its speed is constant, which causes its distance to increase constantly.

Now put an extra “per time” on each of the variables like how I explained up at the top. The falling object’s acceleration (speed per time) is constant, which causes its speed (distance per time) to increase constantly. It’s the same concept, but it seems more complex because we’re dealing either constantly changing values that are hard to measure.

[Obligatory Vsauce video.](https://youtu.be/U6VBV4QUMu0)

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So idk if this makes sense so I’m going to use numbers. If I take something, and shoot it let’s say a bullet. Into the air. The first second it will be slowing down at 9.81m/s if I’m not mistaking because gravity is pulling it down that fast. At the 2nd second. Will gravity be pulling it down at 9.81m/s still or will it go to 19.62m/s? Like will the speed be stacking essentially for how fast it slows down?

In: 8

7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Speed is distance per time. Acceleration is speed per time, or distance per time per time. If speed increases at a constant rate, acceleration is constant.

If you drop something off a building, it starts off at rest. It is immediately and constantly accelerated by Earth’s gravity at 9.81 m/s^(2) (approximately), meaning its velocity will increase by 9.81 m/s every second. After 1 second, it will be falling at 9.81 m/s. After 2 seconds, it will be falling at 19.62 m/s. After 3 seconds, it will be falling at 29.43 m/s. It will keep accelerating like this until it is stopped by some other force.

An easy way to think about it is to imagine the relationship between distance and speed instead of speed and acceleration. They’re the same thing. Imagine a ball rolling along a surface. If there are no forces, it’ll keep going at the same speed forever, but the distance it covers will increase at a constant rate. At the beginning, it will have covered 0 metres. After 1 second, it will have covered, for example, 10 metres. After 2 seconds, it will have covered 20 metres. Its speed is constant, which causes its distance to increase constantly.

Now put an extra “per time” on each of the variables like how I explained up at the top. The falling object’s acceleration (speed per time) is constant, which causes its speed (distance per time) to increase constantly. It’s the same concept, but it seems more complex because we’re dealing either constantly changing values that are hard to measure.

[Obligatory Vsauce video.](https://youtu.be/U6VBV4QUMu0)

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