Final answer:
Galileo's experiment concluded that in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate because gravity affects them equally, disproving the misconception that heavier objects fall faster. The mass gets cancelled out in the equations of motion, showing that fall velocity is independent of mass.
Step-by-step explanation:
Galileo's experiment aimed to understand how gravity affects falling objects regardless of their mass, challenging the ancient Greek philosophy that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. Without modern timekeeping devices, Galileo creatively measured the fall time perhaps by using his pulse or a synchronized water clock as a primitive stopwatch. According to Galileo's findings, which were later reinforced by Newton's laws of motion, objects should fall at the same rate in a vacuum, regardless of mass. This is because the acceleration due to gravity is constant for all objects when air resistance is absent. Thus, the mass of the objects gets cancelled out when considering the conservation of mechanical energy, proving the fall velocity to be independent of mass. Nevertheless, in real-world situations with air resistance, differences in fall rates can be observed. This concept holds true even on the Moon, although both objects would fall more slowly due to the Moon's weaker gravitational pull.
If we consider option a from the GRASP CHECK, the correct explanation supports Galileo's findings by stating that heavy objects do not fall faster than light objects because, in the conservation of mechanical energy, the mass term gets cancelled, rendering velocity independent of mass.