Free fall

When you jump off a tiny step, gravity pulls you down. If only gravity is pulling on something, scientists call it 'free fall'! It doesn't matter if it's going up or down, as long as gravity is the only force. Think of a ball you throw up in the air. It goes up, then it stops and comes back down. During that whole trip, it's in free fall because only gravity is playing with it!

You might think 'fall' means going down, but in science, it's different! The Moon is always moving around the Earth, but it's also in free fall! It's like it's constantly falling towards Earth, but it's moving so fast sideways that it keeps missing. So, even though it looks like it's floating, it's actually in a super-fast free fall all the time!

When astronauts are in space, they float around. This is because they are in free fall around the Earth! There's no ground pushing them up, and gravity is pulling them, but they are moving so fast that they just keep going in a circle. This makes them feel weightless, like they don't weigh anything at all!

When people go skydiving, they call it 'free fall' too. But it's a little different. Air pushes back on them, like a giant cushion. This air push stops them from feeling completely weightless. They still fall very fast, but the air slows them down a bit, making it feel like they are being held up by the air!