What causes heavier and lighter objects to fall at different speed?

Because the downward force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by g, heavier objects have a greater downward force. Heavier objects, however, also have more inertia, which means they resist moving more than lighter objects do, and so heaver objects need more force to get them going at the same rate.

What causes objects to fall at different speeds?

Thus, more massive objects fall faster than less massive objects because they are acted upon by a larger force of gravity; for this reason, they accelerate to higher speeds until the air resistance force equals the gravity force.

Why do heavier objects fall quicker?

Given two objects of the same size but of different materials, the heavier (denser) object will fall faster because the drag and buoyancy forces will be the same for both, but the gravitational force will be greater for the heavier object.

Does Weight Affect falling speed?

The simplest answer is: no, an object's weight usually will not change its falling speed. For example, you can test this by dropping a bowling ball and a basketball from the same height at the same time--they should fall at the same speed and land at the same time.

When we say that light objects and heavy objects fall at the same rate what assumption's are we making?

A: There is an equal and opposite force on each of the two objects: they will both move. Now since the acceleration of each object is inversely proportional to the mass, the lighter object will move a bit faster.

Misconceptions About Falling Objects

Why do objects fall at the same rate regardless of mass?

Increasing force tends to increase acceleration while increasing mass tends to decrease acceleration. Thus, the greater force on more massive objects is offset by the inverse influence of greater mass. Subsequently, all objects free fall at the same rate of acceleration, regardless of their mass.

Why does mass not affect the speed of a falling object?

Mass does not affect the speed of falling objects, assuming there is only gravity acting on it. Both bullets will strike the ground at the same time. The horizontal force applied does not affect the downward motion of the bullets -- only gravity and friction (air resistance), which is the same for both bullets.

Do heavy or light objects fall faster when thrown from a height?

Answer 1: Heavy objects fall at the same rate (or speed) as light ones. The acceleration due to gravity is about 10 m/s² everywhere around earth, so all objects experience the same acceleration when they fall.

Why doesn't a heavy object accelerate more than a light object when both are freely falling?

It is because the acceleration due to gravity is a constant in a particular region. Gravity doesn't accelerate heavy objects faster and light objects slower.

Does mass affect the acceleration of a falling object?

The acceleration of the object equals the gravitational acceleration. The mass, size, and shape of the object are not a factor in describing the motion of the object. So all objects, regardless of size or shape or weight, free fall with the same acceleration.

Why do heavy and light objects hit the ground at the same time?

The force due to gravitation and air resistance. In the absence of air resistance, both heavy and the lighter object will hit the ground at the same time. If the air resistance is present, the air resistance will slow down the lighter object. Therefore the heavier object will hit the ground first.

Why does a feather fall slower than a brick?

Galileo discovered that objects that are more dense, or have more mass, fall at a faster rate than less dense objects, due to this air resistance. A feather and brick dropped together. Air resistance causes the feather to fall more slowly.

Do objects fall at the same speed regardless of weight?

The acceleration of the object equals the gravitational acceleration. The mass, size, and shape of the object are not a factor in describing the motion of the object. So all objects, regardless of size or shape or weight, free fall with the same acceleration.

How does weight affect speed?

There's certainly evidence that weight affects speed: An American College of Sports Medicine study shows that a 5 percent reduction in weight improved 3K times by 3.1 percent, while a 10 percent reduction improved times by 5.2 percent, and experts say that this difference becomes greater as your distance increases.

What factors affect falling objects?

Accordingly, falling is affected by a variety of factors, and the controllable part is the object's surface area, angle, and weight. The combination of these controls and physics rules has made parachuting and freefalling possible.

Who said that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones?

According to Aristotle, whose writings had remained unquestioned for over a 1,000 years up until Galileo's time, not only did heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones, but an object that weighed twice as much as another would fall twice as fast.

Why do balls and feathers fall at the same time?

Because there is no longer any air, there is no more opposing force – this makes the feather and the bowling ball fall to the ground at exactly the same time (see our video below for a demonstration).