Here's why:
* Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation: The force of gravity between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses. This means a larger mass will experience a stronger gravitational force.
* Newton's Second Law of Motion: The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass (F = ma).
The Key Point: While a more massive object experiences a greater gravitational force, it also has a larger inertia (resistance to change in motion). These two factors perfectly balance each other out, resulting in the same acceleration due to gravity for all objects, regardless of their mass.
Example: A feather and a bowling ball dropped from the same height will reach the ground at the same time (ignoring air resistance). The bowling ball experiences a stronger gravitational force, but it also has a much greater mass, so the acceleration is the same.
Important Note: This is true only in a vacuum, where air resistance does not play a role. In reality, air resistance can affect the acceleration of objects with different shapes and densities.
