Question

A feather, a marble, and a cannonball are dropped from the same height at

the same time. If they were in a vacuum, which one would hit the ground first?
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A. The cannonball would hit the ground first.
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B. The marble would hit the ground first.
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C. The feather would hit the ground first.
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D. They would all hit the ground at the same time.

Answer 1

The correct answer is that they would all hit the ground at the same time. If no air resistance is present, the rate of descent depends only on how far the object has fallen, no matter how heavy the object is. This means that two objects will reach the ground at the same time if they are dropped simultaneously from the same height. This statement follows from the law of conservation of energy and has been demonstrated experimentally by dropping a feather and a lead ball in an airless tube.