Two identical cans, one filled with lead shot and the other with feathers, are dropped from the same height by a student standing on a chair. Which can, if either, experiences the greater force due to the gravitational attraction of the Earth?

Question

Petie

Physics

13 July, 20:38

Two identical cans, one filled with lead shot and the other with feathers, are dropped from the same height by a student standing on a chair. Which can, if either, experiences the greater force due to the gravitational attraction of the Earth?

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Answers (1)

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Vincent Freeman · Answer 1

The lead shot-filled can experiences a greater force due to gravity because it contains more mass.

Explanation:

The gravitational attractive force that acts on two different bodies on Earth depends on the body's masses. The greater the mass, the stronger the force of gravity acts on the body. The smaller the mass, the weaker the force of gravity acts on the body.

The can with the lead shot in it has a greater mass than that of the can that is filled with feathers. Therefore, the can with the lead shot will experience a greater force due to gravitational attraction of the Earth than that of the can that is filled with feathers.