Why does a larger balloon drop slower than a smaller balloon?

Answer 1

We are all similar to the experiment the scientist Galileo conducted when testing the laws of gravity. He had been atop the Leaning Tower Of Pisa and had thrown objects of the different weights and they had landed on the ground at the same time. This is because gravity pulls all objects, regardless of mass at the same speed. Some factors which could alter this could be air resistance, which causes friction. So if in a room without air, i think that the balloons will fall at the same time. Normally, though, i think that aside from some circumstances, the smaller balloon will fall first. (if there is air in the big one, of course it won't fall quickly, its mass will be reduced)

Answer 2

If the balloons are dropped from the same height, then because gravity is constant the balloons would theoretically hit the ground at the same time, but when you consider air resistance you can observe that because the larger balloon has a greater surface area than the smaller balloon the force of air resistance pushing the large balloon up would be greater causing the large balloon to drop slower than the small balloon.

Answer 3

A balloon, as you know, is filled with almost the same air as the air surrounding it, which all has a mass. The balloon itself also has a mass and is much more dense than the air in-, and outside the balloon. Gravity pulls the air equally so it stays in place(unless it is moved by something of course, but you get the point). The air is a bit like water. If you imagine having a tub of water, the water doesn't go anywhere because it is all equally dense, but if you put a rock, or something else that is more dense than the water, it goes to the bottom. When the air is inside a balloon gravity pulls the balloon down while the air wants to stay due to inertia(inertia is a rule that basically says that if an object is moving it wants to keep moving and if an object is not moving it wants to stay). So because of that, the balloon have to drag the air down along with itself. It would be like tying to pull your friend while he was just standing still.

You can also look at it like this. If you weigh a deflated balloon it will have a mass, and a volume which is going to determine its density(density=mass/volume). When the balloon is deflated it has a its original mass and its original volume. If you the inflate the balloon, it will be filled with the air. This will change the mass and the volume from its original mass and volume, to "the balloons mass"+"the airs mass" and its volume to "the ballons volume"+"the airs volume" so if we then calculate its density, we get

("mass of the balloon"+"mass of the air")/("volume of the balloon"+"volume of the air")="the density of the inflated balloon", and since the density of the air is lower than the density of the deflated balloon, its going to lower the density of the inflated balloon.

Answer 4

The small balloon encounters less resistance while falling. The large balloon has to move a larger amount of air out of the way in order to move downwards than the small balloon.