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Difficulty: EasyGravity and Free Fall

A 500 kg500\text{ kg} steel block is dropped from rest into a deep vertical mineshaft. Ignoring air resistance, arrange the following one-second time intervals in order according to the distance the block travels during each specific interval, from the shortest distance to the longest distance.

  1. 1The 1st second (from t=0t = 0 to t=1t = 1 second)
  2. 2The 2nd second (from t=1t = 1 to t=2t = 2 seconds)
  3. 3The 3rd second (from t=2t = 2 to t=3t = 3 seconds)
  4. 4The 4th second (from t=3t = 3 to t=4t = 4 seconds)

Answer

The correct sequence is chronological: the 1st second, followed by the 2nd second, 3rd second, and 4th second.
In free fall, an object undergoes constant acceleration due to gravity. Because its downward speed is continuously increasing, the distance it travels during each successive equal time interval also increases. The block's heavy mass is a distracter; it does not change the fact that the shortest distance is covered in the first second (when it is slowest), and the longest distance is covered in the final second.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the relationship between gravity, acceleration, and the speed of a falling object.
Gravity causes a constant downward acceleration on the block, meaning its speed increases steadily as time passes.
Understanding constant acceleration is required to determine how distance changes over equal time increments.
2
Determine the distance traveled during each successive one-second interval.
Since the block's average speed is higher during each subsequent second, the distance it travels in each one-second interval must also be strictly greater than the previous interval.
Distance equals average speed multiplied by time. A higher average speed over the same one-second duration yields a longer distance.
3
Order the time intervals from the shortest distance to the longest distance.
The 1st second has the lowest average speed (shortest distance), followed in order by the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seconds (longest distance).
This sequences the intervals properly according to the prompt's instructions.

Key Concept

Acceleration due to gravity causes a freely falling object's speed to continuously increase, resulting in strictly greater distances covered during each successive time interval, regardless of its mass.
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Topics

Gravity and Free Fall

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