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Why do objects fall at the same time no matter what mass/speed it has?

Like the money and hunter experiment. Im doing physics and im still unsure about it. Surely a feather falls slower than a hammer?

Projectile motion btw.
Original post by Kangaroo17
Like the money and hunter experiment. Im doing physics and im still unsure about it. Surely a feather falls slower than a hammer?

Projectile motion btw.


A feather falls slower than a hammer in air. This is due to air resistance.

In a vacuum (no air) they fall at the exact same rate.

Why do you think the hammer should fall faster?
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Avatar for bob072
bob072
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Original post by Kangaroo17
Like the money and hunter experiment. Im doing physics and im still unsure about it. Surely a feather falls slower than a hammer?

Projectile motion btw.

Basically because the gravitational force is proportional to the mass of the object (F = GMm/r^2) but the acceleration is also proportional to F/m so the mass cancels out and acceleration is independent of mass (when no air resistance)
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Sheperd23
OP
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Original post by langlitz
A feather falls slower than a hammer in air. This is due to air resistance.

In a vacuum (no air) they fall at the exact same rate.

Why do you think the hammer should fall faster?

So basically we ignore air resistance? And its wierd because couldnt more mass mean more force applied down?
Original post by Kangaroo17
So basically we ignore air resistance? And its wierd because couldnt more mass mean more force applied down?


Yes for physics problems you should ignore air resistance. :smile:

(The reason for this is that for all but the simplest objects, with predictable motion, your calculation of the drag force would be very difficult)

Yes, the force due to gravity felt by an object is given by its weight
W=mgW = mg,
but the weight is directly proportional to the mass. The acceleration g is what links them and its value is constant. Since g is constant objects accelerate towards the ground at the same rate and we see them fall together

Hope this helps
(edited 5 years ago)

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