Question

The legend goes that galileo dropped two objects of different mass from the leaning tower of pisa at the same time. Which hit the ground first, the lighter object or the heavier object?​

Answer 1

In Galileo's experiment, objects of different masses dropped from a height would hit the ground simultaneously because all objects fall at the same rate due to Earth's gravity, a concept also proven on the Moon by an astronaut with a hammer and feather.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Galileo's experiment, when he dropped two objects of different masses from the Tower of Pisa, they should have hit the ground at the same time. This is because in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate due to gravity, which on Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s2. To measure the fall time without a stopwatch, Galileo may have used his pulse or a simple mechanical device like a water clock. If the objects were of the same size but different masses, Galileo should have observed that they fell and landed simultaneously. However, had this experiment been conducted on the Moon, where there is no atmospheric drag, the results would be even more apparent, as demonstrated by Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott with a hammer and feather.