Asked by Avery Williams

A coin (5 grams), a small parachute (21 grams), and a hammer (710 grams) are all dropped from a height of 10 meters. The coin and the hammer take about the same amount of time to fall. Which statement describes the time it takes for the parachute to fall?
A. It takes longer to fall because it experiences greater air resistance.
B. It takes the same amount of time to fall because the effect of gravity is the same.
C. It takes less time to fall because it has the least mass.
D. It takes less time to fall because it has the most surface area.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
A. It takes longer to fall because it experiences greater air resistance.

Explanation: The parachute has a large surface area and low mass, so air resistance (drag) is large compared to its weight. That lowers its terminal velocity and makes it descend much more slowly. The coin and hammer fall in about the same time because, for those compact, heavy objects, air resistance is small and they accelerate close to g.