Monday 22 September 2014

Does a heavier object fall faster than a lighter object?

Actually, all the objects fall with the same velocity when dropped from a certain height, in vacuum. When we drop a heavy and a lighter object from a height, both will be attracted by Earth and will have the same acceleration: g or acceleration due to gravity. The value of this acceleration is about 9.81 m/s^2.  Using the equations of motion:


s = ut + 1/2 at^2


where, s is the height through which the...

Actually, all the objects fall with the same velocity when dropped from a certain height, in vacuum. When we drop a heavy and a lighter object from a height, both will be attracted by Earth and will have the same acceleration: g or acceleration due to gravity. The value of this acceleration is about 9.81 m/s^2.  Using the equations of motion:


s = ut + 1/2 at^2


where, s is the height through which the object falls, u is the initial velocity (0 m/s for an object dropped from a height), a is acceleration (g in this case) and t is time taken. The equation is not dependent on the mass of the object. 


In real world, air resistance would mean that all the objects will reach a terminal velocity, but would fall at the same time on ground.


Hope this helps. 

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