parachuteHow to Calculate Free Fallparachute

Free-fall is the motion of objects which move under the sole influence of gravity; free-falling objects do not encounter air resistance. More massive objects will only fall faster if there is an appreciable amount of air resistance present. Please note that due to air resistance the speed of a free falling human body will not exceed 53.6 m/s (120 mph).
Free-falling objects are in a state of acceleration. Specifically, they are accelerating at a rate of approximately 10 m/s2. This is to say that the velocity of a free-falling object is changing by approximately 10 m/s every second. If dropped from a position of rest, the object will be traveling approximately 10 m/s at the end of the first second, approximately 20 m/s at the end of the second second, approximately 30 m/s at the end of the third second, etc. Thus, the velocity of a free-falling object (vf) which has been dropped from a position of rest is dependent upon the time for which it has fallen. The formula for determining the velocity of a falling object after a time of t seconds is
vf=g·t
Where g is the acceleration of gravity. An approximate value for g on Earth is 10 m/s2; more exactly, its value is 9.82 m/s2. The above equation can be used to calculate the velocity of the object after any given amount of time when dropped from rest.
Example Calculations:
At t = 6 s
vf = (10 m/s2) · (6 s) = 60 m/s
At t = 8 s
vf = (10 m/s2) · (8 s) = 80 m/s
The distance which a free-falling object has fallen from a position of rest is also dependent upon the time of fall. This distance can be computed by use of a formula; the distance fallen after a time of t seconds is given by the formula.
d = 0.5 g · t2
Where g is the acceleration of gravity (approximately 10 m/s/s on Earth). Example calculations for the distance fallen by a free-falling object after one and two seconds are shown below.
Example Calculations:
At t = 1 s
d = (0.5) · (10 m/s2) · (1 s)2 = 5 m
At t = 2 s
d = (0.5)· (10 m/s2) ·(2 s)2 = 20 m
At t = 5 s
d = (0.5) · (10 m/s2) ·(5 s)2 = 125 m

File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.70.
On 21 Jan 2006, 12:02.