Do all heavy things sink and all light things float?

Answer 1

All objects in the same gravitational field fall at the same rate, or at least accelerate to their terminal velocity at the same rate regardless of their mass. This was demonstrated by a legendary experiment by Galileo (1564-1642) when dropped two cannon balls of different sizes from the Leaning Tower of Pisa - both struck the ground at the same time.

Answer 2

If there is air resistance - yes. if there is no air resistance - no. All objects fall at the same rate on planet earth.

Gravity will act with equal force on all objects, but shape, size and weight will make the air they're falling through brake different objects in different amounts. Something small, dense and slick will push through the air easier than something big, fluffy and porous. With different amounts of air drag the speed at which they fall will be different too. Ffor example: if you dropped a bowling ball at the same time you dropped a tennis ball, they would hit the ground at exactly the same time. this is because they are both the same shape and they are both on planet earth where all things fall as a result of gravity at the same rate, 9.8 meters per 1 second.

No, it's just that at low speeds (like the speed of something that's just dropped a meter or two) the braking force exerted by air drag is fairly small, so the difference in speed between the tennis ball and the Bowling ball will be small too. But with accurate enough equipment, or a high enough fall the difference will begin to show. Besides, the tennis ball is hollow and the bowling ball is solid, so despite the shape being the same the bowling ball will be denser and fall faster.

Answer 3

Depends which direction the object is travelling in the water.

If the object is on top of the water, the lighter object would be faster.

If the object is sinking in the water, the heaver object would be faster.

Answer 4

No. Sinking and floating depends on density, not weight. Human beings have the same density, regardless of weight, if they are of similar bodily composition. All human beings are made up of approximately 70% water and will therefore sink at approximately the same rate.

On the other hand, heavy people can sink faster than other heavy people! Specifically, muscular people as compared to fattier people will notice significant changes, as muscle is much denser than fat -- about 20% denser. While this might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, it makes a world of difference in the buoyancy force equations, as humans are normally rather close to equilibrium. Obese people can stay afloat very easily, but probably lack the cardiovascular ability to do any reasonable amount of swimming. Muscular people have more difficulty staying afloat, but generally have more than enough aerobic and anaerobic horsepower to swim as long as they need to.

Answer 5

In the absence of other factors, such as air resistance, the weight of an object does not affect its rate of acceleration in a gravitational field.

Answer 6

1. yes heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. they fall faster because the pull-push theory also goes with the gravitional pull throughout the earth.

Answer 7

the object has to be lighter than 1.0 which is how dense water is

Answer 8

Nope. Look how heavy real boats are -- and they still float. Floating or sinking has to do with the amount of water pushed out of the way.

Answer 9

depends on the surface area

Answer 10

That is usually the case.