Question

Suppose I drop a rock the same time a ball which was dropped from above passes the rock. (Someone a few meters above you drops a ball. When that ball is even with your hand, you let go of the rock you're holding.)

What would you say about the accelerations of the two objects?

a. The ball has a greater acceleration than the rock.
b. The rock has a greater acceleration than the ball.
c. The rock and ball have the same acceleration.

Answer 1

Both the rock and the ball dropped together will have the same acceleration due to Earth's gravity, which is approximately 9.8 m/s², as acceleration due to gravity is independent of the objects' velocities. c. The rock and ball have the same acceleration.

Step-by-step explanation:

If we assume that air resistance is negligible, both the rock and the ball will have the same acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.8 m/s² on Earth. This is because the acceleration due to gravity is independent of the velocity of the objects. So, in the scenario where you drop a rock at the same time a ball, which was initially dropped from above, passes the rock, both the rock and the ball will accelerate downward at the same rate. This means that both the rock and the ball, when dropped, would have the same acceleration. The mass of the object does not affect the rate at which it falls in a vacuum or in the absence of air resistance. Therefore, in this scenario, the rock and the ball have the same acceleration.