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Why does a brick and a feather fall at the same rate on the moon?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
The free-fall of objects (falling objects in vacuum or outside the atmosphere) is solely dependent on gravitational pull (in this case the gravitational pull of the moon) and is not influenced by factors such as weight, density or surface area since there is no atmosphere to resist such factors. Therefore a brick and a feather would fall at the same rate on the moon.
F = GmM / R^2 force of grav
But
A = F / m acceleration due to grav
So,
F / m = GM / R^2 = A
So the acceleration due to grav is GM / R^2
Notice small m is not an important consideration for acceleration in the formula for acceleration due to gravity... we define small m the mass of the smaller object (feather or brick) and big M the mass of the bigger one (moon).
Another way to say this: acceleration with the same force is inversely proportional to mass A= f/m , but the force due to grav is proportional to mass. GMm/R^2. This leads to the cancellation of small m.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
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If you dropped them in a vacuum, they would fall at the same rate. However, when you do it in air, the friction from the air will slow the feather considerably, as the surface area to mass is much greater then that of the brick.
Why will a feather and an apple fall at the same rate in a vacuum?
because it does
How does the mass of an object affect the rate of its fall?
It won't affect the rate of fall, which is 9.8m/s2. If you drop a bowling ball and a crumpled ball of paper from the same height, they will land at the same time. The earth's gravity determines the rate of fall. During the Apollo 15 moon landing, a feather and a hammer were dropped from the same height and they landed at the same time. The moon's gravity determined their rate of fall. Refer to the related link to see the demonstration.
Do objects fall at the same rate on a planet with no atmosphere?
No, because there is no air to slow the down. For deeper analysis, check youtube, hammer and feather experiment on the moon. They hit the ground at the same time on the moon because there is no atmosphere, but if you drop a hammer and a feather on earth the hammer, obviously, hits first.
Can a quarter and a feather fall at the same speed?
theoritically yes. if they are placed in a vacuum packed room with no air, just empty space, they can fall at the same rate. if they fell in air, the aerodynamics wouldn't equal out, so the quarter would fall faster.
Why would a feather and an elephant fall at the same time in a vacuum?
Because a feather has more air resistance, it normally falls slower, but in a vacuum, there is not air resistance so they fall at the same rate. Think of it as a feather and an elephant falling in space.
Which falls faster a quarter or feather?
the feather falls faster. The quarter falls faster if the height is very tall. When the hight is about a foot or so the feather falls faster. Try it for yourself :)
When a body of mass 10 kg and 100 kg fall from a height of 100 m which will reach first?
It depends on their relative air resistance. If air resistance were not a factor, the objects would actaully all fall at the same rate. Astronauts confirmed this during a lunar landing by dropping a hammer and a feather. Since the moon lacks an atmosphere, which ordinarily greatly reduces the rate at which a feather will fall, the hammer and the feather fell at the same rate. No matter how massive an object, if wind resistance is not factored in, all objects fall at the same rate on the earth's surface. Higher-mass objects will have more momentum because of their mass (and thus do more damage if they hit something), but have the same 9.8 meters/second2 acceleration on the surface of Earth due to gravity.
Under what conditions would a lead weight and a feather fall at the same rate?
If they were dropped in a container from which the air had been removed.
When an object is drop disregarding air resistance does a heavier object take less time to fall or have bigger final velocity?
No, neglecting air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass or shape. Galileo was right about this, as proved on the Apollo 15 mission to the moon. An astronaut on the moon (where there is no air) simultaneously dropped a hammer and feather, and they both fell straight down at the same rate, and hit the ground at the same time.
Why does a stone fall faster than a feather?
The difference is in the air resistance. Without air resistance, both will accelerate at the same rate. If there is air, in the case of the stone the ratio of surface area / weight is less than that of a feather. As a result, the stone will slow down less than the feather, and fall faster.
Why does the hammer and feather theory work on the moon and not on earth'?
In simple theory any object will accelerate downwards at the same rate after being dropped. But, if you try it, the air gets in the way and stops a feather falling as fast as a hammer. On the Moon there is no air so everything falls at the same rate (which is 1/6 as fast as on the Earth.
