GENERAL PHYSICS 1

Inclusive Dates: October 17- 28, 2022

Module
3 Uniformly Accelerated Motion and Free Fall
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
A. solve for unknown quantities in equations involving one-
dimensional uniformly accelerated motion, including free fall
motion; and
B. solve problems involving one-dimensional motion with
constant acceleration in contexts such as, but not limited to,
the “tailgating phenomenon”, pursuit, rocket launch, and
free-fall problems.

Click the pdf file entitled, “CAR RACE- I’m Faster!” attached under the Starter Probe part
of your learning package. Read the instruction carefully before answering them in your
notebook.

After accomplishing the “CAR RACE- I’m Faster!” activity, you may proceed to the
Concept in Focus part of your learning package.

Uniformly Accelerated Motion

When was the last time that the driver of the vehicle you are riding had to make a sudden
brake to avoid colliding with the car in front? When was the last time that the vehicle is closely
behind the car you are riding? Chances are, you have or have been tailgated. Tailgating is the
practice of driving too closely behind another vehicle. This practice puts the drivers (as well as
the passengers) at risk on the road. Maintaining a minimum three-second time difference
between vehicles is considered safe. This implies that the elapsed time between the back of the
vehicle in front and the front of your vehicle should not be less than three seconds. To determine
the three-second following distance, the driver should wait until the vehicle in front passes a
fixed marker. Then the driver should pass this marker in no less than three seconds. With this
principle, it follows that the faster the vehicles, the greater must be the distance between them.
(Silverio A., 2017). The principle mentioned above is a practical application of Science that
involves the concept of uniformly accelerated motion.

What happens when all vehicles on the road will move in a consistent accelerated
manner? Write your answer in your notebook.

For more in-depth discussion on some real-life examples of uniformly accelerated motion,
please read pages 45-48 of your textbook and study the PowerPoint Presentation entitled
“Uniformly Accelerated Motion”. For more thorough understanding of what Uniformly
Accelerated Motion is, open the file entitled “Uniformly Accelerated Motion Tutorial” then
watch, and analyze the video.

Property and exclusive use of SAINT LOUIS COLLEGE BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying, recording,
posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written permission of SLC-SFLU, is strictly
PROHIBITED and is subjected to any forms of consequences.
 General Physics 1 (STEM 12) Page 2 of 3 pages

To check how well you understood the concept learned, answer the activity “What Have
I Learned So Far?” on page 49 of your reference book. Write your answer in your notebook.

Check how many correct answers you got by comparing your answers with the answer
key attached under the Knowledge Check part in the resource list. If you did not get all items
correctly, review the learning materials to figure out why you did not get the correct answer. If
you got all items correctly, you may proceed to the next part of the module.

Free Fall Motion

Get a piece of paper and a pencil. Then, hold one in each hand and release them.
Which falls with more acceleration, a piece of paper or a pencil? If you hold one in each hand
and release them, the pencil hits the ground first. Do heavier objects accelerate more as they
fall? Try dropping them again, but first crumple the paper to form a ball. Without air pushing
against it, the crumpled paper falls as fast as the pencil. For a lightweight object such as paper,
collisions with particles of the air have a greater effect than they do on a heavy book.
To understand the motion of falling objects, first, consider the case in which air does not
have an appreciable effect on motion. Recall that gravity is an attraction between objects.
Free fall is the motion of an object when gravity is the only significant force acting on it.
About 400 years ago, Galileo Galilei discovered that, neglecting the air’s effect, all
objects in free fall have the same acceleration. It doesn’t matter what they are made of or how
much they weigh. The acceleration of an object due only to the effect of gravity is known as
free-fall acceleration/acceleration due to gravity. Near Earth’s surface, free-fall acceleration is
about 9.8 m/s2 downward. Think about the skydivers, each second the skydivers fall, their
downward velocity increases by 9.8 m/s. When analyzing free fall, whether you treat the
acceleration as positive or negative depends on your use of the coordinate system. If you define
upward as the positive direction, then the free-fall acceleration is negative. If you decide that
downward is the positive direction, the free-fall acceleration is positive. (Zitzewits, Haase, &
Harper, 2013)

Do we have a free fall in real life? Cite at least one example. Write your answer in your
notebook.

For further explanation and examples of objects in free fall motion, read pages 50-56 of
your reference book and study the PowerPoint Presentation entitled “Free Fall Motion in One
Dimension”. For a more thorough understanding of what Free Fall is, open the file entitled “Free
Fall Explained” then watch, and analyze the video.

To check how well you understood the concept learned, answer the activity “What Have
I Learned So Far?” on page 56 of your reference book. Write your answer in your notebook.

Check how many correct answers you got by comparing your answers with the answer
key attached under the Knowledge Check part in the resource list. If you did not get all items
correctly, review the learning materials to figure out why you did not get the correct answer.

Property and exclusive use of SAINT LOUIS COLLEGE BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying, recording,
posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written permission of SLC-SFLU, is strictly
PROHIBITED and is subjected to any form of consequences.
 General Physics 1 (STEM 12) Page 3 of 3 pages

Your Performance Task answer sheet is attached under the Performance Task part of your
learning resource list. Please read it in advance so that you will be guided on what to do during
the actual performance in school.

David M. (2020), General Physics 1 (Second Edition). DIWA Learning System, Inc.
Santos G. (2017), General Physics 1. Rex Book Store, Inc.
Silverio A. (2017), General Physics 1. PHOENIX Publishing House, Inc.
Zitzewits, Haase, & Harper, Physics. McGraw-Hill Education
http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/HTML5/motion_diagrams.html
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-5/Introduction
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-physics/chapter/free-falling-objects/
https://www.britannica.com/science/free-fall-physics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFhOygrDoM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQrz4dfxDw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg8NsHpaDrY&list=RDCMUCYqACVYl0c0BhlVN6X2HIMg
&index=2

Property and exclusive use of SAINT LOUIS COLLEGE BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying, recording,
posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written permission of SLC-SFLU, is strictly
PROHIBITED and is subjected to any form of consequences.