The Physics of Falling: Why Everything Drops, But You Don’t Always Breaks

By Valentina Tomateo

Track 1: Gravity — The OG Force

You drop your phone. It cracks. You drop your body on the couch. It sighs. What’s behind it?

Gravity. It’s the universal pull that brings everything—planets, pencils, people—down to Earth.

Literally. Isaac Newton called it out with an apple, but gravity was pulling long before that. It’s

invisible, but always working, 24/7.

Track 2: Acceleration — Falling with Style

Gravity pulls everything down at 9.8 m/s2. That means every second you fall, you’re speeding

up. If you jump from a cliff (don’t), your speed keeps climbing until another force (hopefully a

parachute or the ground) says “stop.” Physics isn’t dramatic—it’s consistent.

Track 3: Air Resistance — Nature’s Brakes

Ever notice how a feather floats but your phone drops fast? That’s air resistance. It’s the

invisible drag that slows things down. Without it, even paper would plummet like a rock. In

space? No air, no brakes. Everything falls fast and forever.

Track 4: Terminal Velocity — The Final Drop

When falling objects stop speeding up, they hit terminal velocity—the point where gravity and air

resistance balance out. Humans hit it around 53 m/s (about 120 mph). That’s when you’re falling

fast, but not any faster. Kinda terrifying. Kinda cool.

Track 5: Impact — The Physics of Ouch

It’s not the fall, it’s the stop. When you hit the ground, kinetic energy turns into sound, heat, and

force. That force spreads through your body, your bones, or the object. If you spread it out (like

with your hands or a soft mat), you absorb the impact better. That’s why gymnasts land soft and

cats survive ridiculous heights. Physics cares about how you stop.

Bonus Track: You Don’t Just Fall — You Learn

Physics doesn’t just explain falling—it explains flying, driving, bouncing, even heartbreak

(emotionally, of course). Studying it is like decoding the universe’s playlist. Every motion has a

reason. Every drop has math behind it. And once you start learning, you never stop falling—for

science.