A ball is thrown upward. While the ball is in the air, does its acceleration increase, decrease, or remains the same? Describe what happens to the velocity of the object from when it is thrown until when it returns.
The acceleration due to gravity is not dependent on whether the ball is going up or down. I will be happy to critique your thinking on what happens to velocity going up and down.
When a ball is thrown upward, its acceleration remains the same throughout its motion. To understand this, we need to consider two factors: the force acting on the ball and the direction of the motion.
When the ball is thrown upward, the force acting on it is gravity, pulling it downward towards the Earth. The acceleration due to gravity is always constant near the surface of the Earth and is approximately 9.8 meters per second squared.
During the upward motion, the ball is moving against the force of gravity; hence, gravity is acting to slow it down. This causes the ball's velocity to decrease. Eventually, the ball reaches its highest point, called the peak or the apex.
After reaching the peak, the ball starts to fall back down towards the ground. At this point, the force of gravity acts in the same direction as the ball's motion, accelerating it. This acceleration due to gravity causes the ball's velocity to increase as it falls.
In summary, while the ball is in the air, its acceleration remains the same (i.e., constant due to gravity). The velocity of the object decreases as it moves upwards until it reaches its peak, after which it increases as it falls towards the ground.