Final answer:
In the absence of air resistance, the ball would be traveling at approximately 9.81 m/s after one second, due to the acceleration of gravity which is 9.81 m/s² on Earth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the final velocity of an object in free fall when we disregard air resistance. The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is approximately 9.81 m/s2, and this is a fundamental concept in kinematics, a branch of physics that deals with the motion of bodies without considering the forces that cause the motion. When an object is in free fall, it will accelerate downwards due to gravity, increasing its speed by 9.81 m/s every second.
To find out how fast the ball is traveling after one second, we apply the equation of motion v = u + at, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity (which is zero in the case of free fall), a is the acceleration due to gravity, and t is the time.
Substituting our known values, we get v = 0 + (9.81 m/s2)(1 s), which gives us a final velocity of 9.81 m/s after one second.