First Lessons in Natural Philosophy for Beginners

by Joseph C. Martindale

What bodies fall through the air most rapidly?

Those that are the heaviest or most dense; because they are the smallest in bulk.

Do heavy bodies increase in velocity as they descend?

They do increase rapidly in velocity as they descend.

How far does a heavy body like lead fall in one second?

It falls sixteen feet in one second.

A falling body increases thirty-two feet in velocity for every second of time it is in falling. During the first second it falls sixteen feet. During the second second, it falls sixteen feet plus thirty-two feet, or forty-eight feet. During the third second, it falls forty-eight feet plus thirty-two feet, or eighty feet, etc.

A rising body decreases thirty-two feet in velocity for every second of time it is in rising. If it be three seconds in rising, its velocity will be eighty feet the first second, forty-eight feet the second second, and sixteen feet the third second, being just the reverse of the same body when falling, as is shown in [Fig. 29].

Fig. 29.