Pizza Pan, Set of Balls with the Same Diameter but Different Densities, Golf Ball, and Ping Pong Ball

 

Code Number: 1C20.15

Demo Title: Free-Fall - Dropping Balls

Condition:  Good

Principle: Free Fall, Terminal Velocity

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment: 

Pizza Pan, Set of Balls with the same diameter but different densities, golf ball, and a ping pong ball.

Procedure:

Choose any two different mass balls from the set and drop them from the same height onto the pizza pan.  You should be able to hear that they hit the pan at the same time as expected.  Repeat the experiment with the golf ball and ping pong ball and you should hear that they hit at different times.  This shows that the air has a much greater effect on the Ping Pong ball due to its larger diameter and small mass.  In effect, it reaches a terminal velocity very quickly, which is not seen with the golf ball over the short drop distances used.

References:

  • G. Bozzo, "'Free-Fall Demonstrations' in the High School Laboratory", TPT, Vol. 58, #1, Jan. 2020, p. 23.
  • Elida de Obaldia, Norma Miller, Fred Wittel, George Jaimison, and Kendra Wallis, "Bridging the Conceptual Gap Between Free Fall and Drag-Dominated Regimes", TPT, Vol. 54, #4, Apr. 2016, p. 233.
  • Rod Cross and Crawford Lindsey, "Measuring the Drag Force on a Falling Ball", TPT, Vol. 52, #3, Mar. 2014, p. 169.
  • J. Messer and J. Pantaleone, "The Effective Mass of a Ball in the Air", TPT, Vol. 48, #1, Jan. 2010, p. 52.
  • Robert Ehrlich and Mary Lynn Hutchinson, "Random and Systemic Errors in Timing the Fall of a Coin", TPT, Vol. 32, #1, Jan. 1994, p. 51.
  • Byron L. Coulter and Carl G. Adler, "Can a Body Pass a Body Falling Through the Air?", AJP, Vol. 47, #10, Oct. 1979, p. 841.
  • Jeffrey Lindemuth, "The Effect of Air Resistance on Falling Balls", AJP, Vol. 39, #7, July 1971, p. 757.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "2.8. Timing the Fall of Dropped Objects", Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down, p. 32.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "A.1. Dropping Balls of Different Sizes", Turning the World Inside Out and 174 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations, p. 3 - 4.
  • John Henry Pepper and Henry George Hine, "Gravitaion", The Boy's Playbook of Science, p. 14.
  • Borislaw Bilash II and David Maiullo, "Heavier - Not Faster", A Demo a Day: A Year of Physics Demonstrations, p. 33.