Free Fall Velocity Calculator

Created by Arturo Barrantes
Reviewed by Wojciech Sas, PhD candidate
Last updated: Aug 25, 2022

The handy free fall velocity calculator helps you determine the speed at which an element would be if it is in free fall. It will only need either distance covered or falling time as per the free fall velocity formula.

You probably have seen a movie where the leading actor finds the deepness of a pit by throwing a rock inside. You might have thought, oh, that's cool. Well, in this article, we will teach you how to calculate the free fall velocity of any object without considering the effect of air.

How to calculate velocity in free fall?

Let's start covering what free fall is and its difference accordingly to where it is conducted:

1. In an empty space: When there is no fluid, like air in the environment, the object's mass and dimensions do not affect it. Then, we have a direct formula:
$v= v_0+ g \times t$

where:

• $v$Velocity at any time of the free fall, in $\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}$.
• $v_0$Initial speed when the falling started, in $\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}$.
• $g$Gravitational acceleration, $9.80665~\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}^2}$.
• $t$Falling time, in $\text{s}$.

Consequently, with the above free fall velocity formula, we only need to know the fall duration to determine the final velocity; always remembering such a value is valid because we are not considering air resistance.

How to find velocity of a falling object knowing the falling distance?

We can use our free fall velocity calculator or adapt the free fall velocity formula we used above to include height. First, we have to start with the relation between height $h$, initial speed, falling time, and gravity:

$h = v_0 \times t + \frac{1}{2} \times g \times t^2$

If we include the previous free fall velocity formula, we get:

$v = \frac{h}{t} + \frac{1}{2} \times g \times t$

Let's cover an example. Imagine you throw an object from a 100 meters height. What is the free fall velocity at the 0 meters level? Try our cool free fall velocity calculator or use the formula above:

1. Recognize the data: We have $v_0 = 0~\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}$ and $h = 100~\text{m}$.
2. Combine the three formulas above and get: $h = 0.5 \times g \times t^2$
3. Determine the falling time: $4.516~\text{s}$.
4. Calculate the free fall velocity with its formula: $44.29~\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}$

If you liked the free fall velocity calculator, check out our other related tools:

FAQ

What is free fall terminal velocity?

Free fall terminal velocity exists when an object if falling through a fluid. Imagine a person who is skydiving: he/she is falling through the air, accelerating from 0 m/s at 9.81 m/s² to a specific terminal velocity determined by the body orientation.

What is the maximum speed an object can reach in a 10 seconds free fall?

98.07 m/s. You can try Omnicalculator's tool: free fall velocity, or do as follows:

1. Consider the free fall velocity formula: v = v₀ + g × t.
2. Assuming the initial speed is zero: v = 9.80665 m/s² × 10 s.
3. Resolving that operation results in 98.07 m/s.
Arturo Barrantes
Gravitational acceleration (g)
ft/s²
Initial velocity (v₀)
ft/s
Input height or time:
Height (h)
ft
Time of fall (t)
sec
Result
Velocity (v)
ft/s
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