Falling Ball Flashcards
Why does a dropped ball fall downward?
It is pulled downward by its weight and accelerates downward in response to that force.
What is weight?
Weight: the downward force exerted on an object by Earth’s gravity. It equals g * mass
What does g stand for?
g is the acceleration due to gravity. near earth’s surface, that is equal to 9.8N/kg or 9.8m/s^2
How differently do different balls fall?
All balls fall at the same rate.
Give both the effects of mass and weight on a ball falling.
Mass: less mass should drop first (baseball)
Weight: more weight should drop first (bowling ball)
Why is neither the weight or mass point of view entirely correct?
They both cancel each other out. Therefore, all balls fall at 9.8m/s^2.
How would a ball fall on the moon?
Much more slowly than on Earth, since the Moon’s acceleration due to gravity is 1.6m/s^2
If an object were to be taken to the moon, would it’s mass or weight change?
Its weight would change, but the mass would not. This is because weight is dependent on mass (weight = g * mass)
