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From the laws of nature what ever goes up must come down. This is due to a constant gravitational acceleration which acts on all objects that are on our planet earth. Every object on this planet, independent of size, experiences the same (Constant acceleration) gravitational acceleration so all falling objects have the same acceleration.

But a nagging doubt may remain if you are concluding that the gravitational attraction between earth and an object is greater the greater the mass of the object. Here is a non-mathematical way to resolve the dilemma. The more massive object will indeed have a stronger gravitational attraction with earth, but it will also have a greater inertia. (When you think about inertia, the tendency of an object at rest to remain at rest, you might find yourself wondering why the lighter object doesn't hit the ground first!) The combination of gravitational attraction and inertia will be the constant acceleration mentioned above. It still may be difficult to overcome the idea that a heavier object should fall more quickly. Try this mental experiment. Imagine yourself at your antipode, that is, the point on earth that is exactly opposite to your present position. go straight down through the center and come out on the surface. (If that will be water, create a temporary island for a minute.) Now imagine yourself dropping the two objects in a vacuum, and imagine them falling "up" toward the ground. Somehow, imagining it this way makes it easier to see that the greater gravitational attraction is working on a "weightier" or more massive object. It is easier to see that they will naturally "fall" to earth at the same rate of acceleration. Of course, air resistance will cause some differences depending on the materials involved. Drop a Bowling ball and a feather from any height, and barring any trickery, the ball will hit the ground first. The acceleration rate for objects falling toward earth (that would have to be corrected for air resistance) is 9.8 meters/seconds squared. In a vacuum, there is no correction necessary for air resistance.

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Wiki User

14y ago
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AnswerBot

6mo ago

Heavier objects have more inertia, which means they resist changes in motion. The force of gravity applies the same acceleration to all objects regardless of mass, causing them to swing at the same rate. Therefore, both heavier and lighter objects will swing at the same speed in a pendulum.

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14y ago

Because all objects fall with the same acceleration and speed.

Sound weird ?

OK. Let's say heavier objects fall faster and lighter ones fall slower.

Take a light object and a heavy object. Tie them together with a short piece of dental floss, and

drop them off the top of a building.

The light object wants to fall slow, but the heavy one pulls it down a little faster.

The heavy object wants to fall fast, but the light one holds it back a little.

Together, they fall at a speed that's somewhere in between the slow speed of the light one,

and the fast speed of the heavy one.

Now you have one object, made of two pieces tied together, and it's falling slower than the

bigger piece would fall if you took the smaller piece away ? ? ?

Does this make sense ?

The truth is that light objects and heavy objects all fall the same. Even leaves and feathers,

as long as there's no air to hold them up.

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Q: Why heavier objects do not swing faster than lighter objects in pendulum?
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Continue Learning about Physics

Does lighter objects fall down faster then heavier objects?

No, in a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their weight. This is known as the principle of equivalence. However, in the presence of air resistance, lighter objects may experience less air resistance than heavier objects, giving the illusion that they fall faster.


Why lighter pendulum stop faster than the heavy one?

Lighter pendulums stop faster than heavy ones because they have less inertia, meaning they are easier to slow down. The movement of a pendulum is governed by its kinetic energy and potential energy, where the lighter pendulum has less energy overall to dissipate. This leads to a quicker damping of the oscillations in the lighter pendulum compared to the heavier one.


Why do heavier objects fall faster then lighter objects?

In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight due to gravity. However, in the presence of air resistance, heavier objects are less affected by air resistance than lighter objects, allowing them to fall faster. This is because air resistance is proportional to the surface area of the object, while weight is proportional to mass.


Which body moves faster heavier or lighter?

In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their weight due to gravity. However, in real-world conditions with air resistance, lighter objects tend to fall slower than heavier objects because air resistance affects lighter objects more.


Why do heavier items fall faster than lighter ones?

In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight due to gravity. However, in the presence of air resistance, heavier objects overcome this resistance more easily and reach the ground faster. This is because heavier objects have more momentum and force to push through the air.

Related questions

Does lighter objects fall down faster then heavier objects?

No, in a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their weight. This is known as the principle of equivalence. However, in the presence of air resistance, lighter objects may experience less air resistance than heavier objects, giving the illusion that they fall faster.


Do heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects when on a parachute?

Assuming the parachutes are the same size, then yes.


Why lighter pendulum stop faster than the heavy one?

Lighter pendulums stop faster than heavy ones because they have less inertia, meaning they are easier to slow down. The movement of a pendulum is governed by its kinetic energy and potential energy, where the lighter pendulum has less energy overall to dissipate. This leads to a quicker damping of the oscillations in the lighter pendulum compared to the heavier one.


Why heavier objects fall faster than do lighter objects?

They don't. All objects fall at the same rate of speed because of weight.


Why do lighter objects fly slower than heavier objects?

they have less mass. heavier objects have a great mass so it gets pulled down faster..... by a little thing called......gravity!


Why do heavier objects fall faster then lighter objects?

In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight due to gravity. However, in the presence of air resistance, heavier objects are less affected by air resistance than lighter objects, allowing them to fall faster. This is because air resistance is proportional to the surface area of the object, while weight is proportional to mass.


Which body moves faster heavier or lighter?

In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their weight due to gravity. However, in real-world conditions with air resistance, lighter objects tend to fall slower than heavier objects because air resistance affects lighter objects more.


Why do heavier items fall faster than lighter ones?

In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight due to gravity. However, in the presence of air resistance, heavier objects overcome this resistance more easily and reach the ground faster. This is because heavier objects have more momentum and force to push through the air.


How can you make a pendulum to swing faster?

You can make a pendulum swing faster by increasing its initial height or by shortening the length of the pendulum. Both of these actions will result in a larger potential energy that will be converted into kinetic energy, causing the pendulum to swing faster.


Read the description of a science experiment below. Which part of the experiment is the second step of the scientific method (forming a hypothesis)?

she hopes to prove that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones


What year did Galileo prove the Aristotle theory wrong?

Galileo challenged Aristotle's belief that heavier objects fell faster than lighter ones.


Who claimed that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects?

Aristotle formed the theory that objects fall at rates relative to their mass. This is not true. Galileo performed the experiment atop the leaning tower of pisa where he dropped 2 balls of different masses and they fell at the same rate (9.81 m/s/s)