Free Fall and the Value of g

Lab Brief #7

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

Near Earth's surface, gravity gives every falling object the same acceleration of about 9.81 m/s², regardless of mass. A hammer and a feather land together in a vacuum; in air they do not, because air resistance acts far more strongly on the feather.

Key words

free fall
Motion under gravity alone, with air resistance negligible or absent.
g
The acceleration due to gravity near Earth's surface, about 9.81 m/s².

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

hardback book
sheet of paper

⚠️ Safety first

Drop from chest height over a clear floor.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "free fall" and "g" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Drop a sheet of paper and a book side by side and record which lands first. Then place the paper flat on top of the book and drop them together. Explain the change using air resistance rather than weight.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

Two objects of different mass fall in a vacuum. They:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Roughly what is g near Earth's surface?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Projectile Motion Splits Into Two Independent Parts All lessons

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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