2006-07-03 17:46:09 · 11 answers · asked by Amymariestoner 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
There is a certain amount of resistance to the air for every object (ant or cat) . An ants weight and resistance to the air creates a terminal velocity for the ant that will not exceed the speed required to damage the exoskeleton of the ant. Terminal velocity is the maximum speed and object will travel before the wind resistance cuases it to gain no more addition speed. A cat exceeds the safe speed for landing without damage, but an ant does not.
2006-07-03 18:00:07 · answer #1 · answered by Jay M 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The true and correct answer is.... MASS
ant or flea very low mass, cat much more mass. If ant had same mass as cat but both same size, ant would also be hurt on impact.
Mass is the amount of matter contained in a physical body that is the measure of a body's resistance to acceleration, different from BUT proportional to its weight.
Cheers ...
Rick
2006-07-04 00:56:16 · answer #2 · answered by rgordon99 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because everything has a terminal volicity (maximum speed), lets say a basketball's max speed from falling is 80 miles per hour. If it reaches 80 miles per hour after a 200 foot drop, that means even if its dropped from 2000 feet, it will still only reach 80 miles per hour. Some animals can hit the ground from their max speed and not die. Perhaps a cat can survive a landing at 40 miles per hour because of its bone and muscle structure, but somthing more clumsy like a dog might be killed from the same fall. A flea may survive no matter how high it is dropped because of its max speed
2006-07-04 00:53:15 · answer #3 · answered by Dagfinn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As any object falls, it gains momentum and speed depending on two factors: weight and distance. An insect weighs so little, that it cannot possibly gain enough momentum and speed to make a significant difference. And the ant or the flea weighs less than the air it's falling through. So it would have more tendency to make like a feather and float.
2006-07-04 00:54:03 · answer #4 · answered by Shalom Yerushalayim 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because flea and ants are too light to be thrown =) if you will hold a cat about 2 floors high and then drop it you wont hurt it, but when it gets higher, the cat cant resist against the gravity of his own weight.
by the way, some of the domestic cats, whose their nature or whose raised by humans since a young kitten,
cant balance their body when you drop it even its about 3ft high =(
2006-07-04 01:24:26 · answer #5 · answered by marlon m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ant reaches a relatively slow terminal velocity (In other words, it falls as fast as it's going to) pretty fast. Also, the ant's exoskeleton absorbs shock a lot better than a cat (or human).
If you fell out of a plane, your terminal velocity would be much faster, and you don't have an exoskeleton to protect you.
2006-07-04 00:53:00 · answer #6 · answered by F. Frederick Skitty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The exoskeleton make-up of the ant is denser than that or a cat...think of it like a finger nail dropping vs. a banana, because the finger nail is denser the the banana it is unharmed, however the banana is browsed.
2006-07-04 01:21:58 · answer #7 · answered by Illya W 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when something is dropped from height,then its potential energy changes to kinetic energy.,in the case of ant or flea, the potential energy which is (mgh) since the mass of an ant is very small ko pot. energy is small, so kinetic energy and hence it is not hurt,which is not the case wid cat
2006-07-04 01:00:20 · answer #8 · answered by shirish pathak 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how do you know the ant is not hurt?
though the ant will have a much lower terminal velocity do to its very small body weight. making it's falls easier to survive.
2006-07-04 00:52:01 · answer #9 · answered by markril1962 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wind resistance, less weight would have an effect on the speed. Less speed less impact on the ground.
2006-07-04 01:12:33 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋