To improve the investigation studying the effect of gravity on objects, the student should consider the principle of keeping other variables constant while changing only one variable to observe its effect. In this case, since the focus is on the effect of gravity (which is constant), the relevant variable to control is the drop height or the masses of the balls used.
Among the provided options:
- By dropping the balls from the same height would improve the investigation because it ensures that the height variable does not influence the results. This would allow for a clearer examination of the effects of gravity on the different balls.
Therefore, the best response is:
by dropping the balls from the same height.