Competency #11

Answer and Explanation

Evidence Statements

  1. A crumpled piece of paper falls with a faster motion than a piece of flat paper, when dropped from a height of 3 feet.
  2. A crumpled piece of paper and a baseball, dropped from a height of 3 feet fall with the same motion.
  3. A textbook falls with a faster motion than a flat piece of paper, when dropped side-by-side from a height of 3 feet.

Based on the above evidence statements, which of the following should you be most likely to believe?

Answer:

The correct answer is C.

  1. On the moon, heavier objects always fall faster than lighter objects.

    Hmmm… This raises the question of whether the above evidence statements apply to earth, the moon, or both. Since the moon was not specifically mentioned in the evidence statements, it is probably safe to assume they are on earth. Also, you can try all 3 of the described experiments yourself and see that they do hold true on earth. (And if you are curious ALL of the objects mentioned would fall with the same motion on the moon).
  2. If air is present, heavier objects always fall faster than light objects.

    This is in conflict with Evidence Statement #2. Air is present in that scenario, yet both objects fall with the same motion.
  3. Heavier objects will fall faster than light objects if air resistance is significant.

    This is the correct answer. It makes sense that air resistance is significant for the flat piece of paper but not for the crumpled piece of paper.
  4. Heavier objects always fall with the same motion as lighter objects.

    This is in conflict with evidence statements #1 and #2.

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