How to Calculate Velocity Distance Gravity

The further objects fall, the faster they travel.

When an object falls freely in a vacuum, the distance it travels determines its final velocity. The object experiences a constant acceleration under gravity at the rate of 32.15 feet per square second. This acceleration rate does not depend on the object's mass, because although the mass produces a proportionately large downward force, the mass also provides inertia, limiting the acceleration from that force. The object's final velocity is proportional to the square root of the distance it travels.

Instructions

1. Multiply the distance that the object falls by 2. If it falls, for instance, by 30 feet: 30 x 2 = 60.

2. Divide the result by gravitational acceleration, which is 32.15: 60 / 32.15 = 1.866.

3. Find the square root of this answer: 1.866^0.5 = 1.366. This is the time, in seconds, that the object spends falling.

4. Multiply the result by the object's acceleration: 1.366 x 32.15 = 43.91, or approximately 44 feet per second.

References

• Georgia State University: Freefall
• University of Virginia: Gravity and Acceleration

Resources

• University of Tennessee: Freely Falling Objects
• University of Illinois: Object Falling in Vacuum