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why do a ping pong ball and golf ball land at the same time

by Miss Florence Mante Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Air resistance is going to slow down both the ping pong ball and the golf ball. Suppose a very simplistic model of air resistance, where the force trying to decelerate the ball depends only on the cross sectional area of the ball. That means that the air is exerting the same decelerating force on balls of equal size.

When I dropped the tennis ball, ping pong ball, and golf ball at the same time for each trial, the balls hit at the same time. Two objects that are subject only to the force of gravity with the same acceleration will hit the ground at the same time.

Full Answer

Would a ping pong ball hit the ground faster than a golf ball?

The golf ball would hit the ground faster because it has a much larger mass compared to a ping pong ball. The greater the force of gravity pulling down on an object, the greater the acceleration.

Does air resistance slow down a ping pong ball?

Air resistance is going to slow down both the ping pong ball and the golf ball. Suppose a very simplistic model of air resistance, where the force trying to decelerate the ball depends only on the cross sectional area of the ball. That means that the air is exerting the same decelerating force on balls of equal size.

Why does a dimpled ping pong ball go farther than a smooth?

So a smooth golf ball would still go a lot further than a ping pong ball, and a dimpled ping pong ball would still go far less distance than a smooth golf ball. A MAJOR reason not mentioned so far is the importance of surface geometry for the total (normal) drag upon the ball.

What are the Ping Pong rules?

Ping pong rules call for two or four players per side who take turns trying to hit a ping pong ball back and forth into the opponents’ half of the court and preventing them from doing likewise on their end. Modern games use 40mm (1.6in), 1g (~3/8 oz) balls that have been altered to give greater rebound and a truer bounce than balls of the past.

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Would a ping pong ball or golf ball hit the ground first?

1. The golf ball has larger mass and so a larger weight (greater force acting down). 2. The golf ball will reach a higher terminal velocity since it accelerates for a longer period of time compared to the ping bong ball.

Why does a ping pong ball fall faster than a golf ball?

The tennis ball and the golf ball hit the ground at the same time. The Earth's gravity is so strong that it pulls objects like these at the same speed. The feather falls more slowly than a golf ball. The air in the room pushes against the feather, making it float down slowly rather than fall quickly.

What happens when you drop a golf ball and a ping pong ball?

Suppose you hold a Ping-Pong ball and a golf ball at arm's length and drop them simultaneously. You'll see them hit the floor at about the same time. But, if you drop them off the top of a high ladder, you'll see the golf ball hit first.

Why a golf ball and a ping pong ball have different weights even though they are similar in size and shape?

A golf ball feels heavier than a table-tennis ball because a golf ball is denser; that is, it has more mass in a similar volume.

Which object will hit the ground first?

heavier objectThe force due to gravitation and air resistance. In the absence of air resistance, both heavy and the lighter object will hit the ground at the same time. If the air resistance is present, the air resistance will slow down the lighter object. Therefore the heavier object will hit the ground first.

Will 2 objects fall same speed?

As such, all objects free fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. Because the 9.8 N/kg gravitational field at Earth's surface causes a 9.8 m/s/s acceleration of any object placed there, we often call this ratio the acceleration of gravity.

Which bounces higher a golf ball or ping pong ball?

The golf ball bounces lower. The balls must be dropped vertically, with the ping pong ball directly over the golf ball.

Will a bowling ball and a golf ball hit the ground at the same time?

Answer? They hit at the same time.

Do bowling balls and tennis balls fall at the same rate?

Answer. If no air resistance is present, the rate of descent depends only on how far the object has fallen, no matter how heavy the object is. This means that two objects will reach the ground at the same time if they are dropped simultaneously from the same height.

Are ping pong balls and golf balls the same size?

That's on you. Back to the topic, those dimensions render a ping pong ball about the same size as a golf ball, which comes in at 1.68 inches. That's pretty close, although I HIGHLY discourage you from playing ping pong with a golf ball. The damage to your ping pong table will be significant.

Why does a golf ball feel heavier than a ping pong ball?

A golf ball feels heavier than a table tennis ball because a golf ball is denser, that is, it has more mass in a similar volume.

Why does the golf ball have dimples?

Dimples on a golf ball create a thin turbulent boundary layer of air that clings to the ball's surface. This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball's surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake.

Can a ping pong ball go as far as a golf ball?

You cant throw a ping pong ball as far as a golf ball. F=ma would suggest that the lighter ball would accelerate more. It seems you are unable able to exert as large a force on a ping pong ball as you can on a baseball. Does your inability to exert a large force on a ping pong ball account for the reduced acceleration? If so, what about objects make them difficult to exert large forces on them. ie: a tissue?

Does air resistance slow down ping pong?

Air resistance is going to slow down both the ping pong ball and the golf ball. Suppose a very simplistic model of air resistance, where the force trying to decelerate the ball depends only on the cross sectional area of the ball. That means that the air is exerting the same decelerating force on balls of equal size.

Does a smooth surface have a lower Cd?

Note that above a certain speed, the smooth surface results in lower drag, as shown in the graph on this web site, the Cd for the smooth surface goes down to almost .1 at high speeds, while the lower limit is about .25 for the dimpled surface. Beyond the "critical" speed for the dimpled surface, the smooth surface has a lower Cd.

How many Newtons does a soccer ball have?

The net force acting on the bowling ball is still 53 newtons, but the net force acting on the soccer ball is only 3 newtons. From Newton’s 2nd law, the bowling ball’s acceleration comes out at about 9.6 m/s², but the soccer ball’s acceleration is only 7.0 m/s².

Why does Galileo think the time of fall should not depend on the mass of the object?

Ignoring air resistance , Galileo thought of a really simple explanation of why the time of fall should not depend on the mass of the object. Gravity is pulling each part of an object. (Galileo didn’t know much about gravity but he knew something was pulling.) So he imagined a ball cut in two. According to Aristotle the halves would fall more slowly than the whole, but Galileo said “What if the two halves are tied loosely together? Is it now one object or two? The result should be the same whether they were separate, touching or in one piece.” That’s what’s happening. If you like think of an object as a bundle of around 10^25 or more atoms. Gravity acts on each of these separately.

What happens if there is no air resistance?

SHORT ANSWER: If there’s no air resistance, they land at the same time. If there is air resistance, the bowling ball lands first.

Why do soccer balls have air resistance?

Both the bowling ball and the soccer ball experience air resistance, because they must push air molecules out of the way as they fall. The amount of air resistance (or drag) experienced by a falling object depends on the square of its velocity, the density of the air, the size of the object, and a hard-to-measure quantity known as the coefficient of drag. If we assume that all of these variables are the same for the bowling ball and the soccer ball, then the bowling ball and the soccer ball experience the same amount of drag.

Does gravity pull harder on a bowling ball?

And yes, gravity does pull harder on the bowling ball; however, the bowling ball’s extra mass means it has more inertia - greater resistance to acceleration - than the soccer ball. In the case of gravity pulling two objects from the same height, the extra pull of gravity on the bowling ball is balanced by the extra inertia, and the objects accelerate at the same rate.

Which argument is the heavier ball hitting the ground first?

Argument One - Obviously the heavy ball should hit the ground first. It’s heavier, so gravity is pulling on it harder. Thus, gravity yanks it down faster.

Is gravitational force the same as inertial force?

The fancy way to say this is that gravitational mass is exactly the same as inertial mass. Some extremely sensitive experiments have been done to show that the mass that causes gravitational forces really is the same as the mass that causes inertia. Galileo’s observation is a consequence.

Why is it harder to move a massive object?

See the connection? A more massive object has more stuff for gravity to act on. But because it is more massive, it is also that much harder to move!

Why Doesn't Gravity Pull On It More?

Well, ask yourself this question: which one is easier to move in the first place? The golf ball.

Does a bowling ball fall faster?

The bowling ball has a greater mass, so there's more stuff for gravity to act on. In that sense, gravity is pulling on it more. But it still doesn't fall any faster.

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