What exactly is meant by a "freely falling" object? what exactly is meant by a "freely falling" object? an object in free fall falls with constant speed. an object in free fall falls with constant velocity. an object in free fall falls under gravity alone with no friction. an object in free fall falls under gravity in air with air resistance but no other resistance.

An object in free fall falls under gravity alone with no friction

Explanation:

Gravity in physics is explained as that force which pulls us down towards the center of the earth; helps us not to float .

What does friction mean?

Friction is a force that acts in an opposite direction to that of the object's movement .

So if the object is not pushed in an opposite direction by any force it will fall freely , it will fall and roll down or it will fall and continue to move in its direction for example an orange falling from a tree ( pulled by gravity) without any force opposing it's movement it will fall continue sliding or rolling down unless there is something hindering it's movement.

Another example is, if you were running and reach a corner and decided to halt your shoes will act as a friction to help you stop immediately.

However if you run in the rain and the road is slippery or there are puddles on the road, when you want to slow down or stop the friction will be less.

The less friction means the harder it is to halt which also occurs when you drive during rain weather .

It is hard to stop the car in time due to less friction on the tires which is reduced by the slippery wet road .

An object will fall and slide down unless some opposing force is there to oppose that movement , that is what free fall means.