How do you make a bowling ball fall at the same speed as feather? All it takes is a little science and a little help from NASA.
A bowling ball is pretty heavy, whereas a feather is as light as... well... a feather. But gravity pulls both of these objects down to Earth in exactly the same way with exactly the same force – so why do they fall at different speeds? What makes the feather fall slower is the opposing force of air resistance. There is more friction between the feather and the air than there is with the bowling ball. This makes it fall to the ground MUCH slower than a bowling ball.
However, if you put these two objects in NASA's vacuum chamber which removes all the air from the room, the results are very different. Because there is no longer any air, there is no more opposing force – this makes the feather and the bowling ball fall to the ground at exactly the same time (see our video below for a demonstration).
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FAQs
But gravity pulls both of these objects down to Earth in exactly the same way with exactly the same force – so why do they fall at different speeds? What makes the feather fall slower is the opposing force of air resistance. There is more friction between the feather and the air than there is with the bowling ball.
What has more mass, a feather or a bowling ball? ›
In this case, the bowling ball has a larger mass compared to the feather. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object. Since the bowling ball has more matter, it has a greater gravitational pull than the feather.
How would it be possible for a feather and a bowling ball to fall toward Earth at the same speed? ›
Similarly, if you pump all of the air out of a glass chamber to create a vacuum, you can drop both the feather and the bowling ball — no strings attached — and watch them hit the ground at the exact same time.
What falls faster, brick or feather? ›
The correct option is The force of gravity acting on both of them is the same. A feather and a brick would fall at the same rate and impact the ground at the same time if dropped together in a vacuum. The feather falls more slowly due to air resistance when it is dropped in normal conditions.
Will a bowling ball hit the ground before a feather? ›
What makes the feather fall slower is the opposing force of air resistance. There is more friction between the feather and the air than there is with the bowling ball. This makes it fall to the ground MUCH slower than a bowling ball.
Will a heavier ball hit the ground first? ›
Because Earth gives everything the exact same acceleration, objects with different masses will still hit the ground at the same time if they are dropped from the same height.
What is the mass of a bowling ball on Earth? ›
A regulation bowling ball weighs between 10 and 16 pounds. That is approximately 4.5 - 7.25 Kg.
Do heavier objects fall faster? ›
Moreover, given two objects of the same shape and material, the heavier (larger) one will fall faster because the ratio of drag force to gravitational force decreases as the size of the object increases.
Which is heavier a bowling ball or a ping pong ball? ›
The difference is not the velocity but the difference is somehow related to the greater mass of the bowling ball. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg). The ping pong ball has a mass of about 0.01 kg and the bowling ball about 4 kg.
What falls faster, a marble or a baseball? ›
Heavier things have a greater gravitational force AND heavier things have a lower acceleration. It turns out that these two effects exactly cancel to make falling objects have the same acceleration regardless of mass.
There is no air resistance in a vacuum. This means that under the force of gravity alone, both objects will accelerate at the same rate. Hence, neither object falls faster. Both fall at the same rate.
Would a ball fall faster on Earth or Jupiter? ›
Since Jupiter is 11 times more massive than Earth, it also has a stronger gravitational pull. If a "JUPITER MODE" was added to the virtual activity, it would likely result in objects falling faster and with more force than in the regular "EARTH MODE".
What falls faster a watermelon or an egg? ›
Some chose the egg, some the watermelon and some said the two will hit the ground at the same time. The correct answer is the last one: the two will hit the ground at the exact same time. This is because gravity accelerates all objects equally, even if one object is heavier than the other.
What is the fastest an object can drop? ›
Terminal velocity is defined as the highest velocity that can be achieved by an object that is falling through a fluid, such as air or water.
Why does a bowling ball and a feather fall at the same rate? ›
Theory: Galileo was the first to discover that dropping two objects from the same height will result in them hitting the ground at the same instant if all air resistance is ignored. The effects of air resistance are most dramatically seen with the classic example of the feather and the bowling ball.
Which ball drops the fastest? ›
Great question. As it turns out, the force of gravity tries to make everything accelerate downward at EXACTLY the same rate, no matter how light or heavy it is. This means that if you dropped a basketball and a tennis ball at the same time (from the same height) they will hit the ground at the same time (try it!).
What is the speed of a bowling ball falling? ›
The acceleration rate is 32 feet per second per second. After one second of fall, the bowling ball will be traveling at 32 feet per second (22 mph). After two seconds, it will be going at a speed of 64 feet per second (44 mph).
Which falls down fastest? ›
In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass or composition. This means a feather, a wooden ball, and a steel ball will all fall at the same speed in a vacuum. This principle is known as the equivalence principle and is a key component of Einstein's theory of general relativity.
