Why, then, doesn't a heavy body fall faster than a light body?
2006-10-10 10:23:18 · 7 answers · asked by Gordito 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
take two bodies. One is mass "m", the other is mass "2 times m", call it "2m".
the gravitational force on the first body is G, gravitational constant, times M, the mass of the Earth, times m, its mass, divided by the square of R, its height from the Earth's center.
the gravitational force on the second body is the same equation, except that you've got 2m instead of m, so the force is twice as big.
ok, so we have a force that is twice as big.
but now let's look at the ACCELERATION
acceleration is defined as force, divided by mass
in the case of the more massive object, with mass 2m, we have seen above that the gravitational force is 2x larger. But to compute the acceleration we have to divided that 2x larger force, by a 2x larger mass. So its acceleration will be equal to that on the lighter body.
So both bodies will fall in the same way (barring air resistance)
Hope this helps
2006-10-10 10:27:47 · answer #1 · answered by AntoineBachmann 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Really gravitational force acts on all bodies in proportion to their masses.
That is exactly why a heavy body fall equal fast as a light body.
Every kg or lbs gets the same gravitational acceleration, on earth being 9.8 m/s2..
Th
2006-10-10 10:35:20 · answer #2 · answered by Thermo 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The other reason that no one mentioned is that, as accurately as we have been able to measure, gravitational mass is exactly equal to inertial mass. If two bodies A and B had equal gravitational masses but A had half the inertial mass as B, then A would fall faster.
2006-10-10 12:22:01 · answer #3 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the heavy body is 2X as heavy, it has 2X as much mass. Mass resists being accelerated.
It takes 2X as much force to accelerate the heavy body at the same rate as the lighter body.
2006-10-10 11:10:16 · answer #4 · answered by sojsail 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The main gravitational force is from the earth, not from the person. The gravitational force from the person is so small we don't even measure it. So the only real force comes from the earth, which is always the same weight. So it's force is the same to everyone.
2006-10-10 10:35:20 · answer #5 · answered by Take it from Toby 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because compared to the mass of the earth, the mass difference of the two bodies is very slight.
2006-10-10 10:31:28 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The earth is so much more massive than any object that in the equation F = G m(earth)m(object)/r2...the mass of the object becomes 1 and F is still 9.8m/s2
2006-10-10 10:27:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋