Math Is Fun Forum

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Acceleration due to gravity / Acceleration of free fall

Is there any difference in meaning between the two expressions? I always thought they meant the same thing. But last night, on “University Challenge”, the answer “acceleration due to gravity” was disallowed in favour of “acceleration of free fall”.

The quesion was: What does g (lower case) stand for? The captain of the Sheffield team answered: “Acceleration due to gravity.” But Jeremy Paxman said that was wrong, and read the answer on his card: “Acceleration of free fall.”

I was totally stunned.

Is there something I’ve been missing all along? Do the two expressions not mean the same thing after all? Or was the quizmaster himself wrong in disallowing the contestant’s answer?

luca-deltodesco

Member

Registered: 2006-05-05

Posts: 1,470

Re: Acceleration due to gravity / Acceleration of free fall

I think the quizmaster should not have dissalowed that (double negative, yes i know ). As far as i know there is absolutely no difference in the two terms, and being that picky is just pathetic

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The Beginning Of All Things To End.
The End Of All Things To Come.

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Re: Acceleration due to gravity / Acceleration of free fall

Yes, it was disgraceful.

It was lucky that the Sheffield team won by a big margin in the end, so that question didn’t matter.

mathsyperson

Moderator

Registered: 2005-06-22

Posts: 4,900

Re: Acceleration due to gravity / Acceleration of free fall

Yes, I think that was just a case of Jeremy being mathematically ignorant.
I remember in one of the other programmes he pronounced asymptote as "math-imp-tote-ay".

Edit: Haha, good old censor.

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Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.

Identity

Member

Registered: 2007-04-18

Posts: 934

Re: Acceleration due to gravity / Acceleration of free fall

lol... a quiz party?