Can You Determine the Mass of an Object from Free Fall Acceleration Data?

[dementor92337]

Homework Statement

Hi, I'm new here, and this may be a stupid question, but please bear with me. In my school, we had a lab where we measured the free fall acceleration. First we dropped a ball off a certain height and timed how long it took to reach the bottom. Then we used the equation:

y = v1t + 1/2a(t^2)

Note: v1 = 0 because we just dropped it, its initial velocity was 0. Also, the acceleration is "g". So the equation became:

y = 1/2g(t^2)

So we graphed y vs (t^2) and used the slope to find the value of "g".

My question is, using the information I told you, is it possible to find the mass of the object? If so, how?

I'm thanking you for your help in advance!

Homework Statement

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

What i thought of doing was somehow calculating the value of the force of gravity and then use the formula:

F = m * g

and then just solve for m, but i don't know how that is applicable here.

 

[LowlyPion]

Welcome to PF.

You might want to read up on Galileo's experiments in gravity.