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Project: free fall

Drop from a height of 80 metres. Print the height after each whole second while it is above ground, like After 0 s: 80 m, then Landed after 4 s.

Learn

Dropped objects speed up. After t seconds an object falls about 5 × t × t metres, so its height above the ground is start − 5t². A while loop is the right tool because you do not know how many seconds it will take: keep going while the height is above zero, then report when it landed.

Your task

Drop from a height of 80 metres. Print the height after each whole second while it is above ground, like After 0 s: 80 m, then Landed after 4 s.

Stretch challenge

Work out the height of a building that takes exactly 6 seconds to fall from.

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Python

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Project: the bouncing ball

Move the ball 20 steps. If x goes above 100, set x to 200 - x and reverse the speed; if x goes below 0, set x to -x and reverse the speed. Count the bounces. Print the final x, then the number of bounces.

Start →15

Project: a ball's path

Place a dot at (x, 150 - x * x / 150) for x from -150 to 150 in steps of 10, cycling through at least 3 colours.

Start →

Practise the idea

🎯 Play Plinko Probability Lab

Drop balls through a peg board and see how gravity and chance shape the results.

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FAQ

Project: free fall: common questions

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