Description:
You sit in a elevator like cart which is goes all the way to the top of the ride. It goes forward a little...and then swoosh you're dropped down.
As you dropped down the tracks all the potential energy that was stored up when you ascended up in the elevator turns into kinetic energy. This is an example of the law of conservation of energy. However, because this is a "real world" example all the potential energy does not convert into kinetic energy due to some lost to friction.
While falling you yourself will be in freefall where there is a weightlessness feeling. This is due to the fact that the only force acting on you is gravity. Free fall, in theory, describes any motion that is affected only by gravitational forces. In a vacuum all objects dropped will have the same acceleration. This acceleration is known as the acceleration due to gravity, represented by the letter g, which is equal to 9.8 m/s^2 or 32 ft/s^2. The acceleration due to gravity differs on each planet because of the different gravitational strength. On Mars the g is 3.3 m/s^2. On Jupiter the g is 25.6 m/s^2. On the moon the g is 1.67 m/s^2.
The speed at which an object is falling during free fall can be determined, when started at rest, by this equation:
The distance an object has traveled during free fall can be determined, when started at rest, by this equation:
g = 9.8 meters per second squared or 32 feet per second squared.
delta t = the time travelled
A free falling object, such as a sky diver, can reach a speed of more than 118 miles per hour however there is a certain speed, the terminal velocity, where you can't going any faster due to air resistance.