If you drop a 10 pound balls and a 50 pound ball off a roof at the same time, they hit the ground at the same time because apparently gravity affects everything the same, but if this is true, why does the 50 pound ball weigh more? It doesn't make sense.
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Because the 50 pound ball has more mass to it.
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This all makes sense once you take your first physics course. On the surface of the earth, the acceleration due to gravity is 9.81 m/s^2 for all objects. Acceleration is the rate at which an objects speed changes (speeds up or slows down). This means that if an object is dropped, after the first second, it will have a speed of 9.81 m/s. After the 2nd second, it's speed will be 19.62 m/s, and so on. So when the two balls start at rest (in your hands) and are dropped, they speed up at the same rate and reach the ground at the same time.
Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object. According to Newton's second law,
Force = mass x acceleration. This is why weight differs between objects of different mass. Acceleration due to gravity is constant between your 10 pound and 50 pound balls, but they have different masses, and therefore have different weights.
Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object. According to Newton's second law,
Force = mass x acceleration. This is why weight differs between objects of different mass. Acceleration due to gravity is constant between your 10 pound and 50 pound balls, but they have different masses, and therefore have different weights.
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It makes perfect sense.
The 50 lb ball needs 5 times as much force to be accelerated at the same rate as the 10 lb ball.
F = m*a = m*g; Since g is constant, F must be proportional to m.
The 50 lb ball needs 5 times as much force to be accelerated at the same rate as the 10 lb ball.
F = m*a = m*g; Since g is constant, F must be proportional to m.