Question
Why do a feather and a bowling ball not hit the ground at the same time when dropped from the same time when dropped from the same height?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
A feather and a bowling ball do not hit the ground at the same time when dropped from the same height due to the effects of air resistance, also known as drag.
When an object falls, the force of gravity pulls it downward, but air resistance acts in the opposite direction, resisting the motion. The degree to which air resistance affects an object depends on its shape, size, and mass.
The bowling ball, being denser and having a smaller surface area relative to its mass, is less affected by air resistance. It falls quickly under the influence of gravity and experiences relatively little drag compared to its weight.
In contrast, the feather has a large surface area relative to its mass, which means that air resistance has a much greater effect on it. The feather encounters a significant amount of drag as it falls, causing it to descend slowly.
If you were to conduct this experiment in a vacuum, where there is no air resistance, both the feather and the bowling ball would fall at the same rate and hit the ground simultaneously, as they would both be subject only to the force of gravity.
When an object falls, the force of gravity pulls it downward, but air resistance acts in the opposite direction, resisting the motion. The degree to which air resistance affects an object depends on its shape, size, and mass.
The bowling ball, being denser and having a smaller surface area relative to its mass, is less affected by air resistance. It falls quickly under the influence of gravity and experiences relatively little drag compared to its weight.
In contrast, the feather has a large surface area relative to its mass, which means that air resistance has a much greater effect on it. The feather encounters a significant amount of drag as it falls, causing it to descend slowly.
If you were to conduct this experiment in a vacuum, where there is no air resistance, both the feather and the bowling ball would fall at the same rate and hit the ground simultaneously, as they would both be subject only to the force of gravity.