if a feather and bowling ball are dropped from the same height at the same time, the bowling ball will hit the ground first. when air resistance is removed, they both hit the ground at the same time. explain why this happens.

1 answer

When both the feather and the bowling ball are dropped from the same height at the same time, they experience gravitational acceleration pulling them downwards. However, the difference in their shapes and masses leads to their different behaviors.

With air resistance present, the feather, being light and having a larger surface area, experiences more resistance compared to the bowling ball. Air molecules interact with the feather, causing drag and slowing down its descent. On the other hand, the bowling ball, being more massive and having a smaller surface area relative to its weight, experiences less air resistance and continues to fall more quickly.

However, when air resistance is removed or reduced significantly, both the feather and the bowling ball experience the same gravitational acceleration. In the absence of air resistance, they both fall with the same acceleration, leading to them hitting the ground at the same time.

In conclusion, the presence of air resistance affects the descent speed of objects, causing lighter and more aerodynamically shaped objects like feathers to fall slower compared to heavier and less aerodynamic objects like bowling balls.