Equations for a falling body

Have you ever thrown a ball into the air and watched it fall back down? That's an example of a falling body.

Scientists have figured out ways to describe how a falling body moves using something called equations, which are like math sentences. These equations help us understand how fast the object is falling and how far it will fall.

One of the equations they use is called the "distance equation" which tells us how far the object will fall. It looks like this:

distance = 1/2 x gravity x time²

Let's break it down:

- The distance is how far the object falls.
- Gravity is a force (like a magnet or a push) that pulls objects towards each other. On Earth, gravity pulls everything down towards the ground.
- Time is how long the object has been falling.

The equation tells us to multiply the gravity by half of the time squared. Don't worry too much about what "squared" means, just remember we have to multiply the time by itself (so if it's been falling for 2 seconds, we'd do 2 x 2 = 4).

Using this equation, we can figure out that if we drop a ball from the top of a building that's 100 meters tall, it will take about 4.5 seconds to hit the ground.

Another equation you might hear about is the "velocity equation," which tells us how fast the object is falling. It looks like this:

velocity = gravity x time

This equation is simpler than the distance one. All we need to do is multiply the gravity by how long the object has been falling. So if the ball has been falling for 2 seconds, we'd do gravity x 2. This would tell us how fast the ball is going (in meters per second).

Overall, these equations help us understand how objects move when they're falling. They're important for scientists who study things like gravity and motion, but you can use them too the next time you play catch or drop something off a tall building!