Gravity and Falling
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an
Italian scientist and mathematician
who wondered about this.
In 1590, he decided to carry out an
investigation to find the answer. He
climbed to the top of the Leaning
Tower of Pisa with two balls that
were different in size and mass but
had a similar density. He dropped
both of the balls from the top of the
tower at the same time. Both balls
hit the ground at the same time.
Gravity and Falling
Galileo's experiment proved that all
objects fall at the same rate, no
matter what their mass is.
But this can seem hard to believe!
Think about a feather and a hammer.
If you dropped both objects at the
same time, would they hit the ground
at the same time?
Gravity and Falling
What do you think happened
when astronauts stood on the
Moon and dropped these two
items at the same time?
Gravity and Falling
The feather and the hammer
hit the surface of the Moon at
the same time!
This proves that Galileo’s
findings are correct.
Can you think why the two
objects might fall at the same
speed on the Moon but the
feather falls so much more
slowly on Earth?
What is different about the
Moon and the Earth that could
cause this to happen?
Air Resistance
There is no air on the Moon.
Air pushes against any object moving
through it. This is known as air resistance.
On Earth, air resistance acts on both objects.
The feather has a large surface area in
comparison to its mass. The hammer has a
small surface area in comparison to its
mass. Air resistance therefore has a greater
upwards force on the feather.
Since there is no air on the Moon, there is no
air resistance to push against the feather,
so the two objects fall at the same speed.
Air Resistance
gravity
Air resistance can be a useful
force, but it can also be
unhelpful in certain situations.
air resistance
air resistance
Look at the two diagrams below.
Which one shows a useful effect of
air resistance, and which one shows
an unhelpful effect of air resistance?
driving force
Air Resistance
Air resistance pushes up on the gravity
parachute, opposing the force of gravity
and making the parachute and the person
fall more slowly. This is a useful effect.
air resistance
air resistance
But air resistance pushes the cyclist
back, opposing the cyclist’s force
from them pedalling the bicycle and
making the bicycle travel more slowly.
driving force This is an unhelpful effect.
The Perfect Parachute
The Super Skydiving Company are redesigning
the parachute they use to allow people to
perform skydives from aeroplanes. They want to
make sure that the parachute they use allows
their customers to fall from the aeroplane as
slowly and safely as possible.
You are going to investigate a helpful effect of
air resistance by finding the best design for their
new parachute.
The perfect parachute will be the one that makes
a person fall the slowest. It will cause air
resistance to push it up with the biggest force.
The Perfect Parachute
You will make three parachutes and drop
them from a height. Each of the three
parachutes should be slightly different.
You will observe which of your parachutes
falls the most slowly. This parachute will
have the most air resistance pushing it
up.
Construct your parachutes using a sheet of
plastic or card. Tie or tape string to the
corners, and tie or tape the four pieces of
string to an object such as a toy figure,
paper clip or piece of modelling clay.
Misconceptions in Science – Mass, Gravity and Air Resistance
#ngscience #ngscience #misconceptions #gravity
https://ngscience.com
A common misconception by young learners: Heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. This common misconception arises from the belief that an object's weight directly influences the speed at which it falls. However, according to the principles of physics, all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass, when dropped from the same height in a vacuum. This concept was famously demonstrated by Galileo Galilei when he dropped two spheres of different masses from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The reason objects sometimes appear to fall at different rates in everyday life is due to air resistance, which can have a more significant impact on lighter objects. Air resistance is the force that acts against an object's motion as it moves through the air. This resistance can cause objects with different shapes and sizes to fall at different rates, even if they have the same mass. For example, consider a feather and a bowling ball. Both are subjected to the same gravitational force when dropped from the same height. However, the feather encounters much more air resistance due to its shape and surface area, causing it to fall much slower than the bowling ball. In a vacuum, where there is no air resistance, both the feather and the bowling ball would fall at the same rate, demonstrating that it is not an object's mass but rather the presence of air resistance that affects the rate at which objects fall in everyday life.
You can address this misconception with students with a simple in-class demonstration. Drop two objects with different masses but similar shapes and surface areas, such as a small and a large ball, from the same height. Observe and discuss the results with the students. This will help students see that, in the absence of significant air resistance, objects of different masses fall at similar rates. Next, conduct another demonstration using two objects with the same mass but different shapes and surface areas, such as a crumpled piece of paper and a flat sheet of paper. Drop them simultaneously from the same height and have students observe the results. This will help them understand how air resistance, not mass, is the primary factor affecting the rate at which objects fall.
