Final answer:
When air is pumped from a tube in a laboratory on Earth, a feather falls slower than a steel ball due to air resistance. However, in a vacuum, both the feather and the steel ball will fall at the same rate.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a laboratory on Earth, when the air is pumped from a tube and a feather and a steel ball are released at the same time, the feather will fall slower than the steel ball due to air resistance. This is because the feather experiences a greater amount of air resistance compared to the steel ball. In a vacuum, where there is no air resistance, both the feather and the steel ball will fall at the same rate.
The subject of the question is Physics, specifically relating to gravity, and is suitable for High School students. It explores the concept of gravity and acceleration in a vacuum, where air resistance is absent, allowing objects of different masses to fall at the same rate. This phenomenon is best demonstrated in a vacuum or in microgravity environments like the Moon or the International Space Station.
The question you've asked is centered on the concept of gravity and how objects with different masses behave in the absence of air resistance. Essentially, Galileo posited that without the influence of air resistance, all objects should fall at the same rate due to gravity, regardless of their mass. This was indeed demonstrated by Apollo 15 astronaut David R. Scott on the Moon in 1971, where he dropped a hammer and a feather and observed them falling at the same acceleration due to the Moon's gravity of 1.67 m/s², in the absence of any atmosphere to provide air resistance. Back on Earth, this principle is investigated in physics classrooms by removing air from a tube and observing a feather and a steel ball fall at the same rate, replicating the vacuum conditions found on celestial bodies like the Moon.
Gravity and Air Resistance
When discussing falling objects on Earth, we often have to consider air resistance, which can significantly influence the behavior of objects with different shapes and mass, such as a feather compared to a steel ball. Without air resistance, objects in free fall will experience constant acceleration due to gravity alone, a phenomenon astronauts observe while aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where they witness firsthand a microgravity environment where all objects appear to float, emphasizing the absence of a perceptible gravitational pull.