In the absence of air resistance, how do a heavy hammer and a light feather fall at the same place on Earth?
AThe hammer accelerates faster because it has more mass
BThe feather accelerates faster because it has less mass
CBoth accelerate at the same constant rate towards Earth
DBoth accelerate at a rate that depends on their shapes
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Both accelerate at the same constant rate towards Earth
1. With air resistance and friction negligible, all objects fall towards the centre of Earth with the same constant acceleration.
2. That acceleration is independent of the mass of the falling object.
3. A hammer and a feather therefore accelerate at the same rate in a vacuum.
4. In air the feather does lag, but that is the effect of air resistance and not of gravity.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 "Kinematics", section 2.7 Falling Objects_
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