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Weight has nothing to do with how fast things fall, only wind resistance. Take two
16 ounce soda bottles, open one drink eight ounces. The unopened bottle is twice
as heavy as the opened bottle. Close the bottle you just drank half of and drop
them at the same time from a tall building, they will hit the ground at the same
time. That is because the acceleration of any falling object is the same, and their
speed when they hit the ground is the same.
Acceleration is the same for all objects at 9.81 meters/second^2 (32.2 feet/second^2, or
22 mph per second). Thus, ignoring air resistance an object starting from rest will
attain a speed of 9.81 m/s after one second, 19.62 m/s after two seconds, and so
on. If you are wondering why a hammer hit the ground before a feather, look at
it's aerodynamic qualities, it has nothing to do with its weight.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
In the absence of air resistance, the weight of an object does not affect the speed at which it falls. All objects accelerate towards the ground at the same rate due to gravity, regardless of their weight. This is known as the principle of equivalence, as demonstrated by Galileo's experiment with dropping objects of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoDear Wiki Questioner,
The weight of an object does not affect its speed as it falls towards the earth.
To prove this we start with Newton's Law of Gravitation, which states:
F=G(me x m / d^2)
Where 'F' is the gravitational force between the earth and a falling object
'G' is the gravitational constant
'me' is the mass of the Earth
'm' is the mass of the falling object
and 'd' is the distance between the center of the earth and the falling object
Next we combine Newton's Law of Gravitation with Newton's Second Law of Motion which states:
F=ma
Where 'F' is a force acting on an object (in our case, the force of gravity on our object)
'm' is the mass of our object
and 'a' is the acceleration of our object due to the force F applied to it
When we combine these two equations we get:
F=ma=G(me x m / d^2)
And we can divide both sides by the mass of our object to get:
a=G(me/d^2)
You can see that since the mass of our falling object cancels out of the final equation, its downward acceleration does not depend on its mass. Since speed is dependent on the acceleration and weight is dependent on the mass of our object, we can conclude that the weight of our falling object DOES NOT affect the speed at which it falls!
To see this concept in action, you can visit the following web page to view a video of a feather (with low mass) and a metal ball (with more mass) being dropped in a vacuum (so that there is no air resistance), and witness that they both hit the ground at the same time. [Note: the first drop is not in a vacuum, to see the vacuum drop, wait until 17 seconds into the video]
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=_XJcZ-KoL9o
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How speed and weight affect an amount of kinetic energy?
Kinetic energy is directly proportional to an object's speed squared, meaning that as an object's speed increases, its kinetic energy increases exponentially. Weight itself does not directly affect an object's kinetic energy, but it can impact the object's speed due to factors like friction and resistance. Ultimately, both speed and weight play a role in determining the kinetic energy of an object in motion.
Increasing the speed of an object does not affect that object's what?
Increasing the speed of an object does not affect that object's mass. Mass is an intrinsic property of an object and remains constant regardless of its speed.
How does mass affect the speed of an object?
Mass does not directly affect the speed of an object, as speed is determined by the force applied to an object. However, a heavier object may require more force to achieve the same speed as a lighter object. In other words, mass influences the amount of force needed to accelerate an object to a certain speed.
Does the density of an object affect the speed?
No, the density of an object does not directly affect its speed. The speed of an object is determined by factors such as the force applied to it and the resistance it encounters, not its density.
How does the weight of an object affect the speed?
The weight of an object does not directly affect its speed. Instead, an object's speed is influenced by factors like the applied force, the object's mass, and the presence of friction. In a vacuum or in the absence of air resistance, objects of different weights would fall at the same rate due to gravity.
How speed and weight affect an amount of kinetic energy?
Kinetic energy is directly proportional to an object's speed squared, meaning that as an object's speed increases, its kinetic energy increases exponentially. Weight itself does not directly affect an object's kinetic energy, but it can impact the object's speed due to factors like friction and resistance. Ultimately, both speed and weight play a role in determining the kinetic energy of an object in motion.
Does the mass affect the speed of an object?
It has no direct affect on the speed of an object. It does affect the energy content of the speeding object.
Increasing the speed of an object does not affect that object's what?
Increasing the speed of an object does not affect that object's mass. Mass is an intrinsic property of an object and remains constant regardless of its speed.
How does mass affect the speed of an object?
Mass does not directly affect the speed of an object, as speed is determined by the force applied to an object. However, a heavier object may require more force to achieve the same speed as a lighter object. In other words, mass influences the amount of force needed to accelerate an object to a certain speed.
Does the density of an object affect the speed?
No, the density of an object does not directly affect its speed. The speed of an object is determined by factors such as the force applied to it and the resistance it encounters, not its density.
Does weight affect speed?
It depends... the object could be falling, going straight, going uphill or going downhill.
How does the weight of an object affect the speed?
The weight of an object does not directly affect its speed. Instead, an object's speed is influenced by factors like the applied force, the object's mass, and the presence of friction. In a vacuum or in the absence of air resistance, objects of different weights would fall at the same rate due to gravity.
Which of these would change the direction of an object but not affect the object's speed?
Circular motion would change the direction of an object but would not affect the object's speed.
Will the speed of the object affect the amount of friction between object and the surface?
Yes, the speed of the object can affect the amount of friction between the object and the surface. In general, an increase in speed can lead to an increase in friction due to factors like heat generation and surface interactions. However, the relationship between speed and friction can vary depending on the specific conditions and materials involved.
Why doesn't weight change the speed an object falls at?
Weight does not affect the speed at which an object falls because all objects experience the same acceleration due to gravity, regardless of their weight. This acceleration is approximately 9.8 m/s^2 on Earth. The force of gravity acting on the object is proportional to its weight, but it is cancelled out by the object's inertia and acceleration, resulting in all objects falling at the same rate.
Does a high speed object weigh more or less than the same object at rest?
The weight of an object does not change with its speed. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity acting on an object, and it remains constant regardless of the object's speed.
Does inertia change with speed?
No, inertia does not change with speed. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion, and it is determined by the object's mass. The speed of an object does not affect its inertia.
