A textbook is dropped from the second story stairs and free falls to the ground. What changes, if any, would be observed of the velocity and the acceleration of the textbook as it falls?

a. The velocity decreases

b. The velocity increases

c. The acceleration remains constantd.

Both B & C

Option D) Both B and C

Explanation:

A textbook is dropped from the 2nd story stairs and falls freely. When an object falls freely, the only force acting on it is the force of gravity which results in a constant acceleration of g. So, whenever an object falls freely, its acceleration will be constant and equal to g (9.8 m/s²). Therefore, the acceleration of the textbook will remain constant. Option C is a correct option.

Since, the acceleration is constant and equal to 9.8 m/s², this implies that with every second, the velocity of the textbook will increase by 9.8 m/s. Since initial velocity is 0, the velocity after 1st second would be 9.8 m/s so that the acceleration is constant and equal to 9.8 m/s². Similar, after 1 sec the velocity is 9.8 m/s, so the velocity after 2 seconds would be 19.6 m/s so that the acceleration is constant and equal to 9.8 m/s². This way, after every second the velocity of the textbook, and every free fall object, increases by 9.8 m/s in ideal cases. So, option B is also correct.

Therefore, Both B and C are correct for the given scenario.