Which one of the following holds true for a freely falling object ?

Which one of the following holds true for a freely falling object ?

It moves with a uniform velocity.
It moves with a uniform speed.
It moves with a non-uniform acceleration.
It moves with a uniform acceleration.
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2023
The correct answer is D. A freely falling object near the Earth’s surface, neglecting air resistance, moves with a constant acceleration.
– Free fall is defined as motion under the sole influence of gravity.
– Near the Earth’s surface, the acceleration due to gravity ($\text{g}$) is approximately constant (about 9.8 m/s²).
– This constant acceleration causes the velocity of the object to change uniformly over time.
In reality, air resistance affects falling objects, causing their acceleration to decrease as their speed increases, eventually reaching a terminal velocity where acceleration is zero. However, in standard physics problems where “freely falling” is used, air resistance is usually neglected, assuming movement solely under gravity with uniform acceleration.
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