how come ?
2006-09-19 15:55:55 · 30 answers · asked by dB 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
i know its strange...cause the quntity of matter should be fixed and yet it falls faster if the shape is changed.But if you apply the right formulas you would get back to the same old mass wouldn't you?Unless you can prove the formula wrong....start revising those formulae and you'll get a PhD in Physics this instant.(i'm just kidding about the PhD)
2006-09-19 18:15:58 · answer #1 · answered by fadly j 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The aerodynamics have changed.
When it's just a flat piece of paper, it catches slight currents in the air and floats down.
When it's in a ball, there's less surface area exposed to the air, therefore, less air resistance. So it falls faster.
Plus...
Aerodynamic issues aside, mass doesn't have anything to do with how fast something falls. It's the pull of gravity, which exerts the same force on all objects, regardless of mass. If you dropped a cannonball and a BB off a bridge at exactly the same instant, they'd hit the river at the same time. The Italian mathematician Galileo demonstrated that about 400 years ago.
2006-09-19 16:02:00 · answer #2 · answered by johntadams3 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mass is the same anywhere. If you go to the moon you still have the same mass. If you negated air resistance (such as in a vacuum) both the normal paper and the balled up one would fall at the same speed because they accelerate at the same speed (9.8m/s^2 here on Earth) They would also fall the same speed as a bowling ball or a car.
With the paper you are only changing its shape by balling it.
Greg
2006-09-19 15:59:49 · answer #3 · answered by Greg C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The piece of paper has a larger surface area than that of the balled-up paper. This will result in the "catching" of the air as it falls; ie. be affected by the air resistance.
If this experiment were conducted in vacuum, you will find that the two papers, and even a heavy bowling ball, will fall at the same rate. This rate of falling is independent of the mass of the object.
2006-09-20 15:41:38 · answer #4 · answered by Kemmy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to distinguish between mass and weight. Objects have Mass (measured in Kilograms). Place them in a gravitational field and they acquire Weight (measured in Newtons because Weight is a Force). The piece of paper, whether it is screwed up or not, will have the same Mass AND the same Weight (placed at the same height above the ground), however the Forces acting AGAINST the respective pieces of paper are different. Both pieces experience the same pulling Force towards the ground (measured in Newtons) but the resistive or frictional forces acting against the flat piece of paper will be larger because of the presence of air. Remove the air and there is only one Force acting on the pieces of paper, therefore they will accelerate at the same rate towards the ground. In the presence of air, they behave differently because the air flow around their different shapes produces different frictional forces, hence the larger, flat piece of paper falls more slowly than the screwed up piece!
2006-09-19 18:22:45 · answer #5 · answered by Mr G. 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the belief you're speaking approximately purely ever works in a vacuum. In genuine existence there are various factors that would provide up this occurring, the main serious being the form of the paper (great and flat) and the molecules interior the air which will provide up the paper falling without resistance. The steel merchandise could (probably) be extra streamlined and hence much less liable to the resistance.
2016-10-17 07:36:45 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By scrunching up the paper you reduce the surface area. As the paper falls, every air particle that hits against it produces a resistive force in the opposite direction. The more surface area available, the more air particles the paper will be in contact with providing a resistive force. The less resistance the faster something can fall.
2006-09-21 09:42:54 · answer #7 · answered by Kate W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drop two pieces of paper, one crumpled and the other as a sheet in a vacuum. Both will fall at the same speed and the same rate. Similarly a pound of feathers will fall at the same rate and speed as a pound of gold. If the fall is 32 feet both will take 1 second to fall in both cases.
The acceleration of the fall is 32 ft per second per second. Shown as 32 feet/second squared.
There is no air resistance.
If a 20 pound weight is dropped from a great height the maximum speed as it hits the ground will be 120 miles per hour. It will not keep accelerating at 32 feet/second squared because of the air resistance.
2006-09-19 20:21:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry but if you're over 11 you really should know the answer to this one.
When you drop the paper there are two forces involved, Gravity trying to accelerate the paper and air resistance trying to decelerate it.
Gravity depends on GM/r^2 but air resistance depends on the many things including surface area. You changes the paper's surface area, thereby reducing the air resistance force which in turn results in a higher overall acceleration.
but then I guess you already knew that.....
2006-09-20 02:52:36 · answer #9 · answered by Mark G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Surface area changed and "drag" took effect. when the piece of paper falls, the larger surface area "catches" some air resistance (something like a parachute would do - drag). when the paper is crumpled, the surface area decreases and the air just flows throught the ball of paper.
2006-09-19 16:07:18 · answer #10 · answered by dunce002917 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The mass has remained the same. You have only altered it's air resistance which changes the rate in which it drifts (or plummets) to the ground. The paper still takes up the same amount of volume and still weighs the same.
2006-09-19 15:58:59 · answer #11 · answered by fla_dan 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋