What will the line on a graph look like if a student drops a fester and a bowling ball from equal heights in a vacuum and they land at the same time
If a student drops a feather and a bowling ball from equal heights in a vacuum, they will indeed land at the same time. However, on a graph, the line representing the motion of both objects would be a straight vertical line. This is because, in a vacuum, there is no air resistance to affect the motion of the objects. Therefore, both objects will fall straight down without any horizontal displacement, resulting in a vertical line on the graph.
When a student drops a feather and a bowling ball from equal heights in a vacuum, the line on a graph representing the position (or height) over time will look different for each object.
In a vacuum, where there is no air resistance, both objects will fall with the same acceleration due to gravity. This acceleration is denoted as "g" and is approximately 9.8 m/s^2.
The bowling ball, being significantly more massive than the feather, will experience a greater force due to gravity and will, therefore, accelerate faster. As a result, the bowling ball will have a steeper line on the graph, representing a quicker decrease in height over time.
The feather, on the other hand, due to its low mass, will experience a lower force of gravity and will, therefore, accelerate more slowly. Consequently, the line on the graph for the feather will be less steep, representing a slower decrease in height over time.
However, it's important to note that in reality, when dropped in a normal atmosphere where air resistance is present, the feather will fall more slowly compared to the bowling ball. This means that the line on the graph for the feather (when considering air resistance) will be even less steep, indicating a further reduced rate of descent.
If a student drops a feather and a bowling ball from equal heights in a vacuum, meaning that there is no air resistance, they will indeed land at the same time. In terms of a graph, since the motion is vertical, we can plot the time on the x-axis and the height on the y-axis.
The graph will show separate lines for the feather and the bowling ball. The line for the bowling ball will be steeper, representing a faster descent due to its greater mass. On the other hand, the line for the feather will be less steep, indicating a slower descent because of its lighter weight.
However, when the feather and the bowling ball are dropped simultaneously, their lines will intersect at the same height on the y-axis. This intersection point represents the moment when both objects hit the ground.
It's important to note that in the presence of air resistance, the feather would experience a significant amount of drag, causing it to fall much slower compared to the bowling ball. In that case, the graph would show a more gradual descent for the feather and a steeper descent for the bowling ball, with no intersection point. But in a vacuum where air resistance is eliminated, the lines representing their descent would intersect.