Introduction to Free-Fall and the Acceleration due to Gravity (12:12)
In this lesson we extend our knowledge of Uniformly Accelerated Motion to include freely falling objects.  We talk about what Free-Fall means, how to work with it and how to identify and object in Free-Fall. Today I get to introduce so many of my favorites: the medicine ball, the vacuum that you can breathe and, of course, little g.

Content Times
0:22 An Example of An Object in Free-Fall
0:54 Textbook definition of a freely falling object
1:11 We have not defined a "Force" so this is how we define Free-Fall
2:07 No Air Resistance (The Vacuum that You Can Breathe!)
3:10 What does it mean to be in Free-Fall? (The Acceleration due to Gravity)
4:41 The Acceleration due to Gravity - Not on Earth
5:24 g is not constant on Earth.  Very close, but not quite
5:56 Common Misconception: Objects moving upward can be freely falling
6:35 Free-Fall is Uniformly Accelerated Motion
7:27 What does the negative mean in -9.81 m/s^2?
7:57 Is "g" positive or negative?
9:01 How can "g" be not constant and we can use UAM?
10:03 Does mass effect the acceleration due to gravity?
10:47 The Review

Find the Acceleration due to Gravity anywhere on Earth using the 
Wolfram Alpha Widget on the right.

The Great Pumpkin Drop

During class we dropped items out of a third story window and then analyzed the video. Thought I would share, just in case anyone else would find it useful. It is easier to go frame by frame if you download the video.

Enjoy,

Jon