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  • Equal Fall: Do Objects of Different Masses Fall at the Same Rate?
    If two objects are dropped from the same height at the same time, in a vacuum, they will hit the ground at the same time regardless of their masses. This is because the acceleration due to gravity is the same for all objects, regardless of their mass. The mass of an object does affect its weight, but weight does not affect how quickly an object falls.

    This can be seen from the equation for the acceleration due to gravity:

    $$a = Gm/r^2$$

    where:

    - \(a\) is the acceleration due to gravity

    - \(G\) is the gravitational constant

    - \(m\) is the mass of the object

    - \(r\) is the distance between the object and the center of the Earth

    As you can see, the acceleration due to gravity is not affected by the mass of the object. This means that all objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum.

    However, if the two objects are dropped in air, the object with the larger mass will experience more air resistance and will therefore fall more slowly. This is because air resistance is a force that opposes the motion of an object through the air. The greater the surface area of an object, the more air resistance it will experience. Since the object with the larger mass will have a larger surface area, it will experience more air resistance and will therefore fall more slowly.

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