What is the Effect of Air Resistance on the Gravitational Acceleration of Objects of Various

Masses, Sizes, and Shapes?

The Effect of the Air Resistance on Gravitational Acceleration

2 March 2024
Kristoff Mathew Leopoldo Gravoso
Riley & Sajeen
SPH 3U4
Mr. Llupo
1) Design

Purpose

This experiment aims to determine what effect an object’s varying mass, shape, and size
has on its air resistance to examine this factor’s effect on the object's gravitational acceleration.

Testable Question

How long (in seconds) will the chosen objects: a metal sphere, a pen, a yogurt container,
and a sponge, take to drop 2 metres from a standstill position?

Hypothesis

Air resistance causes the gravitational acceleration of varying objects to differ due to its
cross-sectional area and its mass. The greater the cross-sectional area, the slower its acceleration
would be. The greater the mass, the faster its acceleration. In the absence of air resistance, which
is only possible in the event of a vacuum (in a man-made structure or space), neither of these
factors affects the object. This is proven by the hammer and feather experiment executed on the
Apollo 15 mission, as well as the bowling ball and feather experiment by Brian Cox. This was a
concept discovered by Galileo, in which an absence of air resistance, all objects will fall at the
same rate regardless of mass. This is because gravity acts in uniformity on all objects.

The metal sphere will therefore be the object that follows the standard rate of
gravitational acceleration (9.8 ms-2) the most due to its highly aerodynamic profile. Since it
disregards air resistance to such a great extent, its mass has a very minimal effect on its rate of
drop. The pen will have the second-closest rate as it too has a spherical form. It is not as effective
as its aerodynamicness is hindered due to its elliptical shape. The yogurt container has the
third-closest rate as though its cone shape creates an effective funnel for the air to pass over, its
bulge at the bottom traps air, creating an area greatly affected by drag. The sponge has the least
close rate to the standard as it has a large cross-sectional area and a relatively low mass.

Variables

The independent variables are the objects that are being dropped: a metal sphere, a pen, a
yogurt container, and a sponge.

The dependent variables are the recorded times in which the objects take to fall the height
designated.
 The fixed variable is the height from which the objects were dropped (2 metres) and the
manner they were dropped (from a stool by Riley).

Experimental Design/Method

The various objects were dropped by a person standing on a stool from a height that was
paralleled by a measuring tape fixed onto the wall. The objects were dropped from the 0 cm
mark and were recorded by an iPhone 13 until they passed the 200 cm mark and landed on the
floor. The preceding video clips were then analyzed to examine at what point the objects crossed
every 20 cm intervals.

Equipment and Materials

● measuring tape
● iPhone 13
● metal sphere
● sponge
● pen
● yogurt cup
● stool

Apparatus
Procedure

1. Choose 3 objects to drop in addition to the provided metal sphere

2. Fix measuring tape onto the wall
3. Choose the first object to drop
4. Place stool beside measuring tape
5. Hold the object at the top of the measuring tape marking it 2 metres above the ground
6. Have another person stand in front of the apparatus and ready a phone or some other
recording device to video record
7. Drop the object while the process is being recorded
8. Repeat this 4 more times for a total of 5 trials for that object
9. Choose the next object and repeat steps 5-7 for the next object
10. Do step 9 for the remaining two objects
11. Analyze the video footage of the 20 trials (5 trials per object) and record the change in
time to change in position

2) Data Collection and Processing

Observations

As the objects were dropped from 2 metres high, they would progressively go faster as
they got closer to the ground. As hypothesized, the metal sphere consistently dropped the fastest
compared to the other objects. The yogurt cup and the pen dropped at a very similar rate to each
other coming 2nd fastest to the sphere. The sponge took the longest amount of time to drop the 2
metres.

Uncertainties

- The exact manner in which the objects were dropped and the exact height (down to the
millimetre) was impossible to ensure as completely equal between each trial. This results
in differing amounts of time taken to drop the same height between trials. (ex. Metal
Sphere; Trial 1: 20cm - 0.13 s, Trial 2: 20cm - 0.09 s)
- The degree of air resistance that impacts each object is also unknown as it is beyond the
current ability of the experimenters.
- The exact millisecond when the objects cross the 20cm intervals as the video footage
only traverses every 0.01 seconds
Raw Data

Metal Sphere
Displacement (m) Trial 1 (s) Trial 2 (s) Trial 3 (s) Trial 4 (s) Trial 5 (s)

0.2 0.13 0.09 0.11 0.11 0.09

0.4 0.22 0.19 0.20 0.19 0.18

0.6 0.28 0.22 0.27 0.25 0.28

0.8 0.34 0.29 0.31 0.33 0.30

1.0 0.38 0.33 0.37 0.37 0.35

1.2 0.42 0.38 0.39 0.41 0.38

1.4 0.45 0.44 0.43 0.46 0.42

1.6 0.50 0.48 0.46 0.50 0.46

1.8 0.52 0.51 0.50 0.54 0.50

2.0 0.53 0.54 0.53 0.55 0.52

Pen
Displacement (m) Trial 1 (s) Trial 2 (s) Trial 3 (s) Trial 4 (s) Trial 5 (s)

0.2 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.18

0.4 0.25 0.25 0.26 0.27 0.26

0.6 0.31 0.30 0.32 0.33 0.32

0.8 0.36 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.37

1.0 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.43 0.41

1.2 0.45 0.45 0.46 0.47 0.46

1.4 0.48 0.49 0.50 0.51 0.50

1.6 0.52 0.52 0.53 0.54 0.53

1.8 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.58 0.57

2.0 0.60 0.59 0.59 0.62 0.61

Yogurt Container
Displacement (m) Trial 1 (s) Trial 2 (s) Trial 3 (s) Trial 4 (s) Trial 5 (s)

0.2 0.26 0.28 0.28 0.30 0.30

0.4 0.33 0.35 0.34 0.37 0.35

0.6 0.36 0.40 0.39 0.41 0.39

0.8 0.40 0.43 0.42 0.46 0.42

1.0 0.43 0.46 0.45 0.49 0.45

1.2 0.46 0.50 0.49 0.52 0.48

1.4 0.49 0.53 0.52 0.55 0.52

1.6 0.52 0.56 0.55 0.59 0.55

1.8 0.56 0.60 0.60 0.62 0.58

2.0 0.60 0.63 0.63 0.65 0.61

Sponge
Displacement (m) Trial 1 (s) Trial 2 (s) Trial 3 (s) Trial 4 (s) Trial 5 (s)

0.2 0.16 0.15 0.17 0.16 0.16

0.4 0.26 0.25 0.27 0.26 0.25

0.6 0.34 0.33 0.35 0.34 0.34

0.8 0.41 0.40 0.42 0.41 0.41

1.0 0.47 0.47 0.49 0.47 0.47

1.2 0.53 0.53 0.55 0.54 0.52

1.4 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.59 0.58

1.6 0.65 0.65 0.66 0.65 0.63

1.8 0.70 0.70 0.71 0.71 0.67

2.0 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.71

Processed Data

Average Time vs. Position (all times recorded has an uncertainty of ± 0.005 s)
Displacement (m) Metal Sphere (s) Pen (s) Yogurt Container (s) Sponge (s)

0.2 0.11 0.18 0.28 0.16

0.4 0.19 0.26 0.35 0.26

0.6 0.26 0.32 0.39 0.34

0.8 0.31 0.37 0.43 0.41

1.0 0.36 0.42 0.46 0.47

1.2 0.4 0.46 0.49 0.53

1.4 0.43 0.50 0.52 0.59

1.6 0.48 0.53 0.55 0.65

1.8 0.51 0.57 0.59 0.7

2.0 0.53 0.60 0.62 0.75

Graph
Gravitational acceleration can be expressed as displacement*2 over time^2:
3) Conclusion and Evaluation

Analysis

From the results of the experiment, it can be gathered that the metal sphere does follow
the standard gravitational acceleration due to its aerodynamic shape. Its line on the graph is
relatively linear with a slope of 13.4 ms-2, which is similar to the constant gravitational
acceleration of 9.8 ms-2 or 10 ms-2. The increase in acceleration is attested to the sphere’s mass,
contrary to the hypothesis that mass is negligible once an object is aerodynamic enough. The pen
starts to accelerate similarly to the sphere but then begins to accelerate at a slower rate than the
sphere towards the 2 metre mark. The yogurt container falls slower than the sphere but maintains
a rate of acceleration that only differs slightly from it. Displaying how its cup shape intakes air
particles into it, causing it to initially slow down due to the drag. But once the cup is filled, the
cross-sectional area is greatly reduced to just the entrance of the cup, causing it to then accelerate
at a rate similar to the ball but at a later period in time. The sponge displays the strongest effect
from air resistance with it suffering the greatest decrease in rate of acceleration as displayed by
the line curving upwards compared to the other relatively straight lines. This is due to its large
cross-sectional area and low mass compared to the other objects.

Conclusion

The aforementioned hypothesis was mostly supported by the experiment and its results.
The metal sphere fell most similar to the standard gravitational acceleration. Followed by the
pen, then the yogurt cup, and lastly the sponge. Air resistance affects gravitational acceleration in
that it prevents objects that have a larger cross-sectional area and less mass from falling through
the air as easily. This is due to how the object has a more difficult time pushing the air particles
from underneath it out of its way to fall. Objects that are heavier and have less cross-sectional
area can push air particles a lot easier, thus accelerating similarly to a situation without any air
particles at all (where air resistance is negligible).

Evaluation

The experiment and conclusion can present errors due to several factors. The exact timing
in which the objects crossed the 20 cm intervals was difficult to measure exactly due to the
instruments used. These measurements present an error of ± 0.005 s. The conclusion can be
errored in its exact understanding of the function of air resistance and its effect. The
experimenters have little to no understanding of how to calculate its effect proving to a difficult.
There was also no quantitative data on the comparison of each object so the exact effect of what
aspects of their shapes, mass, and size is unknown.
Suggested Improvements

Utilize a camera that has more frames to examine and a higher resolution so that the data
gathered can be more precise and accurate. Understand the fundamentals of air resistance and its
effects on a numerical basis.