How long does it take to fall 7m?

An object released from rest falls 7m in 1.19 seconds under Earth's gravity of 9.81 m/s². The formula is t = √(2h ÷ g), giving √(2 × 7 ÷ 9.81) = 1.195 seconds. That assumes it starts from rest — throwing it downward shortens the time, and air resistance has almost no effect over a drop this short.

How fast is something going after falling 7m?

It reaches 11.72 metres per second, which is 42.2 km/h or 26.2 mph. The formula is v = √(2gh) = √(2 × 9.81 × 7) = 11.719 m/s. You can check it a second way: the object gains 9.81 m/s every second, and it falls for 1.195 seconds, so 9.81 × 1.195 gives the same 11.719 m/s.

How far is 7m in feet?

7m is 22.97 feet, since one metre is exactly 3.280839895 feet. For a sense of scale, a little over two storeys. The physics is identical whichever unit you use — the calculator above has an M ⇄ FT button that converts every figure on the page, including the distance markers on the drop tower.

Does a heavier object fall faster?

No. Mass cancels out of the free-fall equations entirely, so a bowling ball and a tennis ball released together from 7m land together. Both take 1.19 seconds. Gravity accelerates everything at the same rate regardless of weight. On Earth a feather is the exception only because air resistance affects it strongly — in a vacuum it falls exactly like the bowling ball.

Does air resistance matter over 7m?

Barely, for a dense compact object. Air resistance needs both speed and time to build up, and over 7m the object is only in the air for 1.19 seconds and never exceeds 11.72 m/s. A stone or a coin will match the ideal figures closely. Something light and large — a sheet of paper, a balloon — is a different matter, because drag becomes significant almost immediately.

How long would a 7m drop take on the Moon?

About 2.94 seconds, roughly 2.5 times longer than on Earth, because lunar gravity is 1.62 m/s² instead of 9.81. The impact speed drops too, to about 4.76 m/s. On Mars, at 3.72 m/s², the same drop takes around 1.94 seconds. Tap the planet buttons in the calculator above to see any of these instantly.

How far does the object fall in the first second?

It covers 4.905 metres in the first second — that is ½ × 9.81 × 1², which is under half of the 7m total. Falling is slowest at the start and fastest at the end, so the object spends a disproportionate amount of its time near the top.

Why does doubling the height not double the fall time?

Because distance grows with the square of time, not in step with it. Rearranged, time depends on the square root of height, so you need four times the drop to double the fall time. Halving 7m does not halve the 1.19 seconds — it only cuts it by about 29 percent. The same square-root relationship applies to impact speed.

Free Fall from 7m

An object dropped from 7m takes 1.19 seconds to reach the ground and lands at 11.72 metres per second — that is 42.2 km/h, or 26.2 mph. This page has the full working, and the simulator above is preset to 7m so you can watch the drop happen, scrub through it moment by moment, and read the speed and ...

THE DROP

HOW IT STARTS

DROP HEIGHT (m)

GRAVITY — 9.81 m/s²

DROP FROM

FALL TIME

1.19 s

IMPACT SPEED

11.7 m/s

That is 42.2 km/h · 26.2 mph

Drop height

7.00 m

Initial speed

0.00 m/s (rest)

Acceleration

9.81 m/s²

Time to peak

n/a

Speed after 1 s

9.81 m/s

Fallen in 1 s

4.91 m

FALL TIMELINE

TIME

FALLEN

SPEED

LEFT

0.20s

0.2m

2.0

6.8m

0.40s

0.8m

3.9

6.2m

0.60s

1.8m

5.9

5.3m

0.80s

3.1m

7.8

3.9m

1.00s

4.9m

9.8

2.1m

1.19s

7.0m

11.7

0.0m

STEPS

Released from rest, so the whole fall is driven by gravity alone: h = ½gt²

Rearranged: t = [−v₀ + √(v₀² + 2gh)] ÷ g = [-0.00 + √(0.00 + 137.34)] ÷ 9.81

Fall time: t = 1.1946 s

Impact speed: v = √(v₀² + 2gh) = √(137.34) = 11.7192 m/s

DROP SIMULATION

TIME

0.00 s

FALLEN

0.0 m

REMAINING

7.0 m

SPEED

0.0 m/s

Galileo's odd-number rule. Each bar is the distance covered in one equal slice of time. Released from rest the six bars grow as 1 : 3 : 5 : 7 : 9 : 11 — the odd numbers, which is the signature of constant acceleration and the pattern Galileo measured on inclined ramps four centuries ago. They sum to 36, or six squared, which is why the last slice alone covers almost a third of the whole drop.

SPEED vs TIME — straight line

DISTANCE vs TIME — curve

Speed climbs in a straight line — gravity adds 9.81 m/s every second. Distance curves upward, because it is the running total of an ever-growing speed.

THE SAME DROP ELSEWHERE

Earth

1.19s

Moon

2.94s

Mars

1.94s

Venus

1.26s

Jupiter

0.75s

Vacuum model. Gravity is the only force here — no air resistance. Real objects stop speeding up once drag balances their weight, and from tall drops the true impact speed is far lower than the ideal figure above.

Live simulation · drawn to scale · updates as you type

Created with❤️byeaglecalculator.com

HOW TO USE

1
The calculator above is already set to a 7m drop, released from rest under Earth's gravity, so the answer is on screen: 1.19 seconds to fall and 11.72 m/s at impact.
2
Press PLAY or REPLAY to watch the drop run, or drag the scrubber underneath to freeze any instant and read the time, distance fallen, height remaining and current speed at that exact moment.
3
Look at the bars beside the tower. Each one is the distance covered in one equal slice of time, and they grow steadily because the object is still accelerating all the way down — over 7m it never reaches a steady speed.
4
Change the drop height to compare any other distance, switch to Thrown down or Thrown up to add a starting speed, or tap Moon or Mars to see the same drop under different gravity.

THE FORMULAS

Distance fallenh = v₀t + ½gt²

From resth = ½gt²

Speed at time tv = v₀ + gt

Speed from heightv = √(v₀² + 2gh)

Fall timet = [−v₀ + √(v₀² + 2gh)] / g

Fall time from restt = √(2h / g)

Rise before fallingpeak = v₀² / (2g)

Earth gravityg ≈ 9.81 m/s²

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Last updated: July 29, 2026 · Formula verified · Eagle-eyed accuracy for every calculation.