will it inrease, decrease, or stay the same?

Question

the acceleration of an apple as it falls from the tree through the air.

Answer 1

The acceleration due to gravity remains the same for considerable distance from the center of earth.
Hence in the case of apple the acceleration due to gravity will not change.
The friction due to air resistance increases as the speed of the apple is increased.
Hence the acceleration due to friction [acting up ward] gradually increases as the speed of the apple increases.
The frictional acceleration can never exceed the acceleration due to gravity.

Therefore, the net downward acceleration gradually decreases and it may attain a zero value and from that instant the apple may reach its terminal speed, if it were falling from sufficient height.

Answer 2

Decrease.

Draw a curve for velocity for the apple, it'll be something look like this - starts from 0, increases at a decreasing rate until it reaches terminal velocity, which means a horizontal line afterwards.

Acceleration is the first degree differentiation of velocity. While the velocity diagram is a curve, the acceleration graph is a straight line. Starting from a value of g = 9.81, deceasing at a constant rate until reaching 0. It remains at 0 as long as velocity remains terminal.

Things become a little more complicated if the apple bounces off from ground and lands back again.

Answer 3

Acceleration will decrease. At first the acceleration will be "g" or 9.8 m/s/s. then air resistance kicks in and opposes the force of gravity, reducing the acceleration.

Answer 4

The acceleration stays the same, unless you consider the air resistance which makes it decrease slightly.

Answer 5

decrease

F=ma

Weight - Resistance = ma

Weight is constant .
As speed increases the resistance increases , so ma decreases.
The resultant acceleration decreases.

Answer 6

Acceleration remains constant. Velocity increases.