Why doesn’t an object falling from an airplane continue to accelerate?

Responses

The object’s weight varies as it nears the ground.

Gravity’s force diminishes as the object nears the ground.

Hitting the ground stops the object’s acceleration.

Air resistance on the object will eventually equal the force of force of gravity.

1 answer

The correct response is: Air resistance on the object will eventually equal the force of gravity.

When an object falls from an airplane, it initially accelerates due to the force of gravity. However, as the object accelerates, it also encounters air resistance (drag) that opposes its motion. As the object continues to fall, the air resistance increases until it balances out the gravitational force. When these two forces equal each other, the net force acting on the object becomes zero, and it stops accelerating, reaching a constant speed known as terminal velocity.