Answers to AQA GCSE Falling objects

Practice Question

1. A ball bearing of mass 0.1kg and a peanut of mass 0.01kg are both dropped in a vacuum. Which of the following statements would be correct?

a)The peanut accelerates faster than the ball bearing (incorrect)

b)Both the peanut and the ball bearing have equal acceleration (correct)

c)The ball bearing has a greater acceleration than the peanut. (incorrect)

2. What is meant by the term free fall of acceleration on Earth?

When the object is nears the Earth’s surface and falling it will accelerate downwards at 9.8m/s² due to gravity.

3. The Moon has a gravitational field 1/6th the strength of Earth’s gravitational field. Predict the acceleration an object would experience if it were dropped on the Moon.

The object would experience acceleration at 1/6th the value on Earth.

9.8/6 = approx 1.6 m/s²