Question

If free falling object were somehow equipped with a speedometer, its speed reading would increase each second by

a. about 5 m/s^2
b. about 10 m/s^2
c. about 15 m/s^2
d. a variable amount
e. a rate that depends on its initial speed

Answer 1

A free-falling object with a speedometer would show its speed increasing by about 9.8 m/s² each second due to the constant acceleration of gravity on Earth, which is independent of the object's initial speed.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a free-falling object were equipped with a speedometer, the speed reading would increase each second by approximately 9.8 m/s², assuming that air resistance is negligible. This rate of increase is known as the acceleration due to gravity, which on Earth, is constant and does not depend on the object's initial speed. Even though the measurement of acceleration might seem puzzling, it's essentially the speed's rate of change over time. If we see a speedometer on a car, it measures the instantaneous speed at any given moment. However, for a free-falling object, that speedometer would reflect a consistent increase in speed precisely because of this unchanging downward acceleration.

Falling objects on Earth are going to accelerate at this constant rate unless they encounter significant air resistance. Therefore, references to different rates like "-15 × 10² m/s²," which is well beyond the Earth's gravitational acceleration, likely describe extreme scenarios not applicable to typical free-fall situations.