Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 136 views

    Free Fall Experiment

    Uploaded by

    James Monsanto
    The document describes an experiment to test Galileo's theory that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. Students drop two balls of equal size but different mass from the same height while recording with a video camera. They observe that the balls hit the ground at the same time, supporting Galileo's theory. The document explains that while heavier objects experience a greater downward force due to gravity, they also have more inertia that resists acceleration, causing all objects to fall at the same rate near the earth's surface.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Free Fall Experiment

    Uploaded by

    James Monsanto
    136 views3 pages
    The document describes an experiment to test Galileo's theory that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. Students drop two balls of equal size but different mass from the same height while recording with a video camera. They observe that the balls hit the ground at the same time, supporting Galileo's theory. The document explains that while heavier objects experience a greater downward force due to gravity, they also have more inertia that resists acceleration, causing all objects to fall at the same rate near the earth's surface.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document describes an experiment to test Galileo's theory that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. Students drop two balls of equal size but different mass from the same height while recording with a video camera. They observe that the balls hit the ground at the same time, supporting Galileo's theory. The document explains that while heavier objects experience a greater downward force due to gravity, they also have more inertia that resists acceleration, causing all objects to fall at the same rate near the earth's surface.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    136 views3 pages

    Free Fall Experiment

    Uploaded by

    James Monsanto
    The document describes an experiment to test Galileo's theory that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. Students drop two balls of equal size but different mass from the same height while recording with a video camera. They observe that the balls hit the ground at the same time, supporting Galileo's theory. The document explains that while heavier objects experience a greater downward force due to gravity, they also have more inertia that resists acceleration, causing all objects to fall at the same rate near the earth's surface.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Free Fall Experiment

    Materials
    Two balls of the same size, but different mass. For example, you
    could use a metal and a rubber ball or a wooden and a plastic
    ball, as long as the two balls are about the same size. If two
    spherical balls like this are unavailable, you could try
    something like an apple and a similar-size round rock.
    A ladder or step stool
    A video camera and a helper (optional)
    Preparation
    You will be dropping the two balls from the same height, at the
    same time. Set up the ladder or step stool where you will do your
    test. If you are using a heavy ball, be sure to find a testing area
    where the ball will not hurt the floor or ground when it lands.
    If you are using a video camera to record the experiment, set up
    the camera now and have your helper get ready to record.
    Be careful when using the step stool or ladder.
    Procedure
    Carefully climb the ladder or step stool with the two balls.

    Drop both balls at the same time, from the same height. If you
    are using a video camera, be sure to have your helper record the
    balls falling and hitting the ground.
    Did one ball hit the ground before the other or did both balls hit
    the ground at the same time?

    Repeat the experiment at least two more times. Are your results
    consistent? Did one ball consistently hit the ground before the
    other or did both balls always hit the ground at the same time?
    If you videotaped your experiments, you can watch the
    recordings to verify your results.
    Can you explain your results?
    Extra: Try this experiment again but this time use balls that
    have the same mass but are different sizes. Does one ball hit the
    ground before the other or do they hit it at the same time?
    Extra: Try testing two objects that have the same mass, but are
    different shapes. For example, you could try a large feather and a
    very small ball. Does one object hit the ground before the other or
    do they hit it at the same time?
    Extra: You could try this experiment again but record it using a
    camera that lets you play back the recording in slow motion. If you
    watch the balls falling in slow motion, what do you notice about
    how they are falling over time? Are both objects always falling at
    the same speed or is one falling faster than the other at certain
    points in time?
    Observations and results
    Did both balls hit the ground at the same time?
    You should have found that both balls hit the ground at roughly
    the same time. According to legend, this is what Galileo showed in
    1589 from his Tower of Pisa experiment but, again, it's debated
    whether this actually happened. If you neglect air resistance,

    objects falling near Earths surface fall with the same approximate
    acceleration 9.8 meters per second squared (9.8 m/s2, or g) due to
    Earth's gravity. So the acceleration is the same for the objects, and
    consequently their velocity is also increasing at a constant rate.
    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.

    You might also like