In a science laboratory at the student's school, there is a giant metal box used for performing experiments. The student brought the 3 objects to the laboratory and placed them on a 10 ft high shelf inside the box. He exited the box and sealed the airtight doors shut. He then pressed a button that vacuumed out all of the air molecules inside the box. Finally, he pressed another button that collapsed the shelf and allowed the 3 objects to fall freely inside the box. Which object hit the ground first?
In this scenario, where all the air molecules have been vacuumed out of the box, the acceleration due to gravity will be the same for all objects, regardless of their mass or size. This means that all objects will fall with the same rate of acceleration.
Therefore, according to the principle of free fall, all three objects will hit the ground at the same time, regardless of their initial positions on the shelf or their individual properties.