Do falling objects technically decelerate consider that the velocity is becoming more and more negative?

Answer 1

If you want to be technically correct, then you never talk about "decelerate". That's a

word made up by people who have been taught that "accelerate" means "speed up", and

who are uncomfortable and unfulfilled until they have a word that means "slow down".

"Accelerate" means change speed or direction of motion. A car screeching to a stop,

and a car maintaining a steady speed on a curve, are both accelerating, because in both

cases, either the speed or the direction of the car's motion is changing.

In the case described in the question, the definition of the positive direction of motion is

entirely up to the observer. He could just as well choose the downward direction as the

positive direction for his observations and calculations.

Furthermore, if you want to be just slightly technical, there are very few occasions

when you ever have to resort to the confusing concept of a negative velocity. Velocity

is a positive speed in a direction. The only reason you would ever need to say that the

velocity is negative would occur if you had already stated the speed, and the direction

you were about to specify were exactly the direction that the speed is AWAY from.

Get your directions straight, and the negative goes away.