Question

The gravitational force acting on a lead ball is much larger than that acting on a wooden ball of the same size. Which statement is true about when they are dropped

Answer 1

Complete question is;

The gravitational force acting on a lead ball is much larger than that acting on a wooden ball of the same size. Which statement is true about when they are dropped?

A) The acceleration due to gravity is the same for both balls.

B) The lead ball’s acceleration due to gravity is larger than the wooden ball’s.

C) The lead ball’s acceleration due to gravity is less than the wooden ball’s.

Answer:

Option A) The acceleration due to gravity is the same for both balls.

Explanation:

Density of Lead is 11.34 g/cm³ while density of hard wood is around 1.3 g/cm³

Thus, it means lead is the heavier object when both have same masses.

We are told that the wood and lead both have same size but from the density given above, it's clear that the mass of the lead ball is more than that of the wooden ball and thus, the force from would be more for the lead ball than the wooden ball.

Now, If we were to measure the position of both balls when falling, we will observe that they do not fall fall with a constant speed. This is because they fall with a constant acceleration and as such the speed increases.

Therefore both balls will hit the ground at the same time because they both start from a position of rest and both will have the same acceleration.