Patty decides to try another experiment. From the same branch, she drops a large, heavy rock and a small pebble. What would happen this time?
Both would hit the ground at the same time.
Well, Patty is in for a rocky experiment! When she drops the large, heavy rock and the small pebble from the same branch, both of them will most likely fall down towards the ground due to gravity. However, due to its weight and size, the rock will certainly make a bigger impact and can give us a smashing conclusion, while the pebble might go unnoticed and just think, "well, that's how I roll!"
When Patty drops a large, heavy rock and a small pebble from the same branch, both objects will fall towards the ground due to gravity. However, there will be some differences in their motion.
1. Acceleration: Both the rock and the pebble experience the same acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.8 m/s^2 on Earth. This means that both objects will accelerate downwards at the same rate.
2. Speed: The larger, heavier rock will accelerate more slowly than the smaller, lighter pebble due to its larger mass. As a result, the pebble will reach the ground faster than the rock.
3. Air resistance: Air resistance affects objects differently based on their size and shape. The rock, being larger and more streamlined, will encounter less air resistance compared to the pebble, which is smaller and less aerodynamic. Consequently, the rock will experience less deceleration, allowing it to maintain its speed for a longer period.
4. Impact: Since the rock has more mass, it will have a greater gravitational force acting on it. This means that when it hits the ground, it will create a larger impact compared to the pebble, which has less mass and will create a smaller impact.
To summarize, both the rock and pebble will fall towards the ground at the same rate due to gravity. However, the pebble will reach the ground faster due to its lower mass and experience more air resistance. The rock, on the other hand, will fall more slowly, experience less air resistance, and create a larger impact upon hitting the ground.
To determine what would happen when Patty drops a large, heavy rock and a small pebble from the same branch, we need to consider the concept of free fall and the effects of air resistance.
When an object is dropped, it falls due to gravity. The acceleration due to gravity near the surface of the Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s^2. This means that all objects, regardless of their mass, will accelerate at the same rate when dropped in a vacuum.
However, in real-world conditions, air resistance plays a role when objects fall through the Earth's atmosphere. Air resistance is a force that opposes the motion of objects moving through the air. It affects objects differently based on their size, shape, and surface area.
In the case of dropping a large, heavy rock and a small pebble, the larger rock is likely to experience more air resistance compared to the smaller pebble due to its size and shape. This means that the larger rock will feel a greater force opposing its motion compared to the pebble.
Since the rock experiences more air resistance, it will decelerate at a faster rate compared to the pebble. As a result, the large rock will reach its terminal velocity (the point where the force of gravity equals the force of air resistance) relatively quickly. It will continue to fall steadily after that, but at a constant speed.
On the other hand, the small pebble will experience less air resistance due to its smaller surface area, and it will take longer to reach its terminal velocity. It will continue to accelerate until the force of gravity is balanced by the force of air resistance.
In summary, when Patty drops a large, heavy rock and a small pebble from the same branch, the rock will reach its terminal velocity faster and will fall at a constant speed, while the pebble will take longer to reach its terminal velocity and will continue to accelerate until it does.