Enter the acceleration due to gravity and the height into the calculator to determine the theoretical velocity.

Theoretical Velocity Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Theoretical Velocity.

TV = SQRT ( 2*g*H)

  • Where TV is the theoretical velocity (m/s)
  • g is the acceleration due to gravity (m/s^2)
  • H is the height (m)

What is a Theoretical Velocity?

Definition:

A theoretical velocity describes the maximum speed an object falling from a given height would reach if there was no air resistance.

How to Calculate Theoretical Velocity?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate Theoretical Velocity.

First, determine the acceleration due to gravity. This is equal to 9.81 m/s^2.

Next, determine the height. For this problem, the height is found to be 30m.

Finally, calculate the Theoretical Velocity using the formula above:

TV = SQRT ( 2*g*H)

TV = SQRT ( 2*9.81*30)

TV = 24.26 m/s