⬇️ **Free Fall & Bounce!** Three balls are suspended at different heights: - 🔴 Red: **5 meters** — lands in ~1.0 seconds - 🔵 Blue: **10 meters** — lands in ~1.4 seconds - 🟡 Amber: **15 meters** — lands in ~1.7 seconds Press **▶ Play** to drop them all! Watch them bounce (they lose energy each time). Ask me: - *"Why do they land at different times?"* - *"Add a ball at 20 meters"* - *"What speed is the blue ball when it hits?"* - *"Do heavier objects fall faster?"*

Free Fall & Bounce

Drop objects — watch gravity pull them down at 9.8 m/s²

Every object near Earth falls with the same acceleration: g = 9.8 m/s², regardless of mass. This is free fall — the simplest motion in physics.

The key formulas:

  • Distance fallen: s = \frac{1}{2}gt^2
  • Velocity: v = gt
  • Time to fall from height h: t = \sqrt{2h/g}

In this simulator, objects fall and bounce when they hit the ground (with energy loss each bounce). Press ▶ Play to release them. Ask the AI to add more objects, change heights, or explain why a bowling ball and tennis ball hit the ground at the same time.

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Do heavier objects fall faster?
No! Galileo demonstrated that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of mass (ignoring air resistance). A feather and a hammer dropped on the Moon land simultaneously — Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott proved this in 1971.
What is the free fall distance formula?
Distance = ½gt², where g = 9.8 m/s². After 1 second: 4.9 m. After 2 seconds: 19.6 m. After 3 seconds: 44.1 m. The distance grows as time squared — each second you fall farther than the last.
Why do the balls bounce lower each time?
Each bounce loses energy — the coefficient of restitution is 0.6, meaning the ball keeps 60% of its speed after each bounce. After several bounces, it barely moves. Real objects lose energy to heat, sound, and deformation.
How long does it take to fall 10 meters?
Using t = √(2h/g) = √(2×10/9.8) ≈ 1.43 seconds. The ball hits the ground moving at v = gt ≈ 14 m/s (about 50 km/h).
What is terminal velocity?
In real life, air resistance increases with speed until it balances gravity. The object stops accelerating and falls at constant "terminal velocity" — about 200 km/h for a skydiver and 10 km/h for a raindrop. This simulator ignores air resistance.