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CATAGORY: MECHANICS
QUESTION: Do things of different weight fall at the same speed when
dropped from the same height?  Will they fall at the same time on the
ground?



If there is no wind resistance then different objects will fall in exactly
the same way.  It does not matter wether it is a penny or a 1 ton boulder.
After a certain time they will be both fall at same speed and will both
fall the same distance.  If they are dropped together they will hit the
ground at the same time.  Remember though that this is the case if there
is no wind resistance! With wind resistance it all depends on the surface
area and the mass. Thats why here on earth a feather will fall slowly but
a hammer does not.  The air is able to support the feather.  If you drop a
hammer or a feather on the moon then they fall the same way since there is
wind resistance since there is no air. Below is a table of numbers that
show what happens if you DROP something off a cliff with NO wind
resistrance. The TIME is how long it has been falling.  SPEED
shows how fast downwards it is going in meters per second and the DISTANCE
is how far it falls in that time. If you want to covert to feet you need
to know that there is about 3.28 feet in one meter.

TIME   SPEED    DISTANCE

 1s     9.8m/s    4.9m
 
 2s    19.6m/s   19.6m
 
 3s    29.4m/s   44.1m
 
Can you make a distance vs. time graph?
Can you make a speed vs. time graph?
It would be a good learning experience for you to do this.
Ask your math teacher to help you if you dont know how.  Perhaps you and
your teacher could try to understand why the two graphs look different.:-)