* Gravity's Pull: Earth exerts a gravitational force on everything near it. This force pulls objects towards the center of the Earth.
* Acceleration: Gravity causes objects to accelerate, meaning their speed increases over time.
* Constant Acceleration: The acceleration due to gravity is constant near the Earth's surface, approximately 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s²). This means that for every second an object falls, its speed increases by 9.8 meters per second.
Here's a simple example:
Imagine you drop a ball from a tall building.
* Initial speed: The ball starts with zero speed (it's at rest).
* After 1 second: Gravity has accelerated the ball to a speed of 9.8 m/s.
* After 2 seconds: The ball's speed has increased to 19.6 m/s (9.8 m/s + 9.8 m/s).
* After 3 seconds: The ball's speed is now 29.4 m/s (19.6 m/s + 9.8 m/s).
Important Note: This explanation ignores air resistance. In reality, air resistance slows down falling objects, especially at higher speeds. This is why a feather and a bowling ball don't fall at the same rate in air. In a vacuum, however, both would fall at the same rate.
