Question

Is the acceleration of a free-falling object uniform?

Answer 1

In a simplified model where outside forces (i.e. forces other than gravity) are ignored, the acceleration of a free-falling object is considered to be uniform, or constant. This acceleration is equal to `g`, the gravitational or free fall acceleration constant of `9.8"m"//"s"^2`.

Note that because the object is falling downward, `a=-g=-9.8"m"//"s"^2`, but g itself is a positive quantity.

When we do consider outside forces such as drag, wind, etc., we see that the acceleration of the object is not uniform.