If I dropped an egg and a potato out of a plane at the same time - which one would hit the ground first?

Answer 1

the eggs due 2 less air resistance,smoother than potatoe, more steamline. the others are saying a feather and a bowlin ball would fall at the same rate due to gravity(120)mph they 4get air resistance

Answer 2

It all depends. A potato might have more air resistance as it fell because of it's irregular shape so it would take longer to fall. On the other hand, an egg might be more prone to wind shear which would increase the distance it traveled before hitting the ground because of it's lesser weight. If you dropped them both from a space ship onto an airless body they would hit the ground at the same time.

Answer 3

to all those saying the egg i agree in some ways and your air resistance argument is quite correct in one sense however your statement about terminal velocity is not. they do both fall at the same rate but the potato would achieve the higher terminal velocity. this is because its higher mass means that more force is required to counteract the downwards force (F=ma). basically the potato would accelerate for longer. this would lead to it reaching a higher overall speed in theory.

however this is affected by the coefficient of drag so if you had a funny shaped potato the egg may still win. basically unless we are provided with the dimensions of the potato and that of the egg as well as the mass of both we cant give a proper answer. however im going to guess on the side of the potato as iv argued its benefits.

Answer 4

They should hit at the same time unless one hits a building and the other hits the ground LOL. A guy in a lecture dropped a small rock and a real big one from a stage at the same time and they both hit at the same time. I guess this would be similar.

Answer 5

The egg would probably hit the ground first as it would offer less drag. In a vacuum they would hit the ground at the same time, but because the earth has gas in the atmosphere resistance needs to be taken into account.

Answer 6

Need some more info. Is the Ground completely flat - if not one may hit first due to this. Is the egg broken at all? What sizes are they? They should hit at the same time but things need to be known.....

Answer 7

The potato would hit first, probably. Although the acceleration due to gravity is the same for both, the egg would be more susceptible to winds because of its light weight. Due to updrafts, the egg (or even the potato) could be in the air for a while.

Answer 8

The egg. It is far more aerodynamic than the potato so would reach a higher terminal velocity and thus hit the ground first.

Answer 9

You guys are all fooled by that experiment at the eifel tower. Sure, its true. BUT THERE IS AIR RESISTANCE PEOPLE.

If your potato is the same size as the egg, the egg will fall later. Because eggs are lower in mass. and the friction of air puts the same momentum on the objects. So, lesser mass will have a higher force.

Think about it.

Answer 10

since they will have the same gravitational acceleration, we expect them to hit the ground at the same time, but there is air resistance which will affect the net force on the object so will change the acceleration of objects. when acceleration changes their velocity and duration to hit the ground will change. so the result is up to their shape like if it is a big potato or small potato or if they have the similar shape they will hit at the same time

Answer 11

whichever has the greater mass. if there was no air resistance then they would hit at the same time e.g. on the moon (that's the newton that everyone is refering to).

the terminal velocity of any object is defined by it's mass not the value of g.

the egg may have a slight advantage being more aerodynamic but I think that would only help get to it's terminal velocity quicker, rather than have a higher terminal velocity.