1.) A golf ball attached to a 10” x 10” parachute
2.) a ping pong ball attached to a 10” x 10” parachute
3.) A golf ball attached to a 20” x 20” parachute
4.) a golf ball attached to a 10” x 10” parachute on the moon
For each example above, explain how the object would fall if or when dropped, comparing each to the other examples.
1.) A golf ball attached to a 10” x 10” parachute: The golf ball attached to a relatively small parachute would experience a slower descent compared to if it were dropped without a parachute. The parachute would create air resistance, also known as drag, which would counteract the force of gravity, resulting in a slower fall for the golf ball.
2.) A ping pong ball attached to a 10” x 10” parachute: The ping pong ball is much lighter than a golf ball, so it would experience even more air resistance when attached to the same size parachute. As a result, the ping pong ball would have an extremely slow descent rate, as the drag created by the parachute would have a significant impact on its fall.
3.) A golf ball attached to a 20” x 20” parachute: Increasing the size of the parachute from the previous examples would further increase the drag force acting against the falling golf ball. The larger parachute would slow down the descent even more than the 10” x 10” parachute, resulting in an even slower fall for the golf ball.
4.) A golf ball attached to a 10” x 10” parachute on the moon: On the moon, there is no atmosphere, thus no air resistance to create drag. Therefore, the presence of a parachute would have no effect on the golf ball's fall. The golf ball would fall at the same acceleration due to gravity as any other object on the moon.