Falling Marbles
By:William Webster
With:Tomie Lambert, Kalista Richards, and Jordon Forster
What we were trying to do was drop two items and see if they would hit the ground at the same time. We decided to use marbles of different sizes and we found that they did not hit the ground at the same time, but they would if air resistance wasn’t a factor. The mass of each object also played a big role because with more mass there is more weight and more force pulling down on the object. Our data showed that the smaller marble hit the ground first more often.
Introduction
The question that we were trying to answer was if the two marbles
of different sizes were to fall from the same height, then they will they hit the floor at the same time? Once while on the moon astronauts dropped two different objects, a hammer and a feather and they found that without air resistance they both hit the floor at the same time. During research we found that if air resistance wasn’t a factor then an elephant and a feather could fall from the same height and even hit the ground at the same time.
We also found that if a piece of paper and foam board were dropped at the same time then they would have the same acceleration since they both have zero velocity which makes zero air resistance . The foam board would have a larger gravitational force and also a very large air resistance force. We did this experiment to get a better understanding of the influence of gravity and air resistance. Our hypothesis was that if two objects were to be dropped from the same height, then they should hit the ground at the same time because gravity pulls on all objects with the same force.
Materials
Data and Observations
We observed that the marble with the least amount of mass falls faster.
Small marble
1st to fall
1st to fall
2 to fall (human mistake)
Big marble
2nd to fall
2nd to fall
1st to fall
Analysis and Conclusion
Our data agreed with our hypothesis in the way that they were close enough to bring the difference down to human error. An unexpected error was air resistance pushing more on the bigger marble because there is more of the item to be pushed. Our data matched that found by most who did this experiment because of the fact that we have air resistance, however on the moon both items would hit the ground at the same time. I learned how much air resistance actually makes a difference as I had thought that no matter what happened they would always hit the ground at the same time.
Bibliography
1.Falling Feather. (2015). Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/falling-feather
2.The Elephant and The Feather - Free Fall. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/newtlaws/efff.cfm
3.Do Heavier Objects Really Fall Faster? (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2013/10/do-heavier-objects-really-fall-faster/
4.Andrew, E. (2016). Watch A Bowling Ball And Feather Falling In A Vacuum. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from http://www.iflscience.com/physics/dropping-bowling-ball-and-feather-vacuum/
By:William Webster
With:Tomie Lambert, Kalista Richards, and Jordon Forster
What we were trying to do was drop two items and see if they would hit the ground at the same time. We decided to use marbles of different sizes and we found that they did not hit the ground at the same time, but they would if air resistance wasn’t a factor. The mass of each object also played a big role because with more mass there is more weight and more force pulling down on the object. Our data showed that the smaller marble hit the ground first more often.
Introduction
The question that we were trying to answer was if the two marbles
of different sizes were to fall from the same height, then they will they hit the floor at the same time? Once while on the moon astronauts dropped two different objects, a hammer and a feather and they found that without air resistance they both hit the floor at the same time. During research we found that if air resistance wasn’t a factor then an elephant and a feather could fall from the same height and even hit the ground at the same time.
We also found that if a piece of paper and foam board were dropped at the same time then they would have the same acceleration since they both have zero velocity which makes zero air resistance . The foam board would have a larger gravitational force and also a very large air resistance force. We did this experiment to get a better understanding of the influence of gravity and air resistance. Our hypothesis was that if two objects were to be dropped from the same height, then they should hit the ground at the same time because gravity pulls on all objects with the same force.
Materials
- Tiny marble
- large marble
- Phone (for camera and timer)
- calculator
Data and Observations
We observed that the marble with the least amount of mass falls faster.
Small marble
1st to fall
1st to fall
2 to fall (human mistake)
Big marble
2nd to fall
2nd to fall
1st to fall
Analysis and Conclusion
Our data agreed with our hypothesis in the way that they were close enough to bring the difference down to human error. An unexpected error was air resistance pushing more on the bigger marble because there is more of the item to be pushed. Our data matched that found by most who did this experiment because of the fact that we have air resistance, however on the moon both items would hit the ground at the same time. I learned how much air resistance actually makes a difference as I had thought that no matter what happened they would always hit the ground at the same time.
Bibliography
1.Falling Feather. (2015). Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/falling-feather
2.The Elephant and The Feather - Free Fall. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/newtlaws/efff.cfm
3.Do Heavier Objects Really Fall Faster? (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2013/10/do-heavier-objects-really-fall-faster/
4.Andrew, E. (2016). Watch A Bowling Ball And Feather Falling In A Vacuum. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from http://www.iflscience.com/physics/dropping-bowling-ball-and-feather-vacuum/