Philosophical

Arguments for equal

rates of fall, ramp
experiments, falling
demo
Argument about equal
rates of fall
 Galileo- Let's say heavy
objects do fall faster than
light ones. Then it seems
the heavier weight will fall
with the lighter weight
acting, as it were, a bit 2

like a parachute.
In that case, the two balls
will together fall more
slowly than the heavy
weight would on its own.
Hence, once the two
weights are tied together
and held out over the
parapet, they have
effectively combined their 3

weights.
Becoming one greater
weight, they must
therefore fall even
faster than the heavy
weight would on its
own. Weight has no
effect on falling rates. 4
 Tamar Gendler - uses it
as a prototypical
example of how
"reasoning about
particular entities within
the context of an
imaginary scenario can
lead to rationally 5

justified conclusions".
 R.J Snooks - goes
further saying "it is
striking that one leaves
the falling balls
example with
something
approaching certainty
for its outcome".
6
 James Brown -
goes all the way
and claims that
Aristotle's theory is
"self-contradictory",
and we gain a priori
knowledge here.
7
Argument about
ramp experiment
 Galileo tried to
decelerate an object’s
motion by replacing
the falling object with a
ball rolling down an
inclined plane. 8
 Since free falling is
essentially equivalent to
a completely vertical
ramp, he assumed that
a ball rolling down a
ramp would speed up
in the exact same way 9

as a falling ball would.

 Using a water
clock, Galileo
measured the time
it took for the ball
to roll a known
distance down the
inclined plane. 10
 After many trials, he
observed that the amount
of time it took for the ball to
roll down the entire length
of the ramp was equal to
double the amount of time
it took for the same ball to
only roll a quarter of the 11

distance.
 In other words, if
you doubled the
amount of time
that the ball was
rolling, it would
travel four times as
far.
12
Argument about fall
demo
 After many trials, he observed
that the amount of time it took
for the ball to roll down the entire
length of the ramp was equal to
double the amount of time it
took for the same ball to only roll13
a quarter of the distance.
Enrichment Activity:

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