Understanding the Physics
* Acceleration due to gravity (g): The Earth's gravitational pull causes objects to accelerate downwards at approximately 9.8 m/s². This means the object's speed increases by 9.8 meters per second every second it falls.
* Initial velocity (v₀): The object is dropped, so its initial velocity is 0 m/s.
* Time (t): The object falls for 3 seconds.
The Formula
We can use the following equation from kinematics:
* v = v₀ + at
Where:
* v = final velocity (what we want to find)
* v₀ = initial velocity (0 m/s)
* a = acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s²)
* t = time (3 seconds)
Calculation
1. Plug in the values: v = 0 + (9.8 m/s²)(3 s)
2. Simplify: v = 29.4 m/s
Answer
The object will be traveling at a speed of 29.4 meters per second after falling for 3 seconds.
