Two students perform a simple experiment. One flicks a dime from the edge of a table. At the same instant, the other student drops a quarter from the same height. Ignoring air resistance, which coin strikes the floor first? Explain why.
My own answer.. is this right?
"in the absence of resistance, both will hit the floor at the same time"
yes
they both start with Vi = 0 and accelerate downward at 9.81 m/s^2
Your answer is correct. In the absence of air resistance, both the dime and the quarter will hit the floor at the same time. This phenomenon can be explained using the concept of free fall and the equations of motion.
When an object is dropped from a certain height, it falls under the influence of gravity alone. In this case, both the dime and the quarter are dropped from the same height, thus experiencing the same acceleration due to gravity.
The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s², which means that both the dime and the quarter will accelerate downwards at the same rate. Since they start from rest at the moment of release, their initial velocity is zero.
Using the equations of motion, one can determine the time it takes for the objects to hit the ground. The equation that relates distance, time, initial velocity, and acceleration for an object in free fall is:
distance = (1/2) * acceleration * time^2
Since both the dime and the quarter are dropped from the same height, the distance is the same for both objects. By rearranging the equation and solving for time, we find:
time = √(2 * distance / acceleration)
Since distance and acceleration are the same for both coins, the time taken to reach the ground will also be the same. As a result, both coins will strike the floor simultaneously.
Therefore, in the absence of air resistance, the dime and the quarter will hit the floor at the same time.