Falling at the Same Rate

Lab Brief #12

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Energy never disappears — it just hides somewhere else.

What you'll learn

Drop a heavy ball and a light one together and they land together, because gravity gives every object the same acceleration. Only air resistance changes this, which is why a feather is the exception rather than the rule.

Key words

acceleration
How quickly something speeds up as it falls.
air resistance
The push of air against something moving through it, which slows light, wide objects most.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: which will move faster, and why?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

tennis ball
golf ball
paper
metre rule

⚠️ Safety first

Drop from shoulder height over a clear floor with feet well back.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "acceleration" and "air resistance" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Drop a tennis ball and a golf ball from the same height and record which lands first. Repeat with a flat sheet of paper, then the same sheet screwed into a ball, and explain the difference.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

A heavy ball and a light ball dropped together will:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

A flat sheet of paper falls more slowly than a crumpled one because of:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

⚡ Static electricity is the same physics as lightning, just smaller.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is why airplanes can fly and why rockets reach space.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): This week, find one thing in your house that turns one kind of energy into another.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

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