Solving Acceleration Problem with Cardboard Balls

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A cardboard ball and a sheet of cardboard, both weighing 0.1 kg, experience different air resistance forces of 0.5 N and 0.1 N. The object with the larger surface area, typically the sheet of cardboard, experiences greater air resistance, leading to less acceleration. The ball, with a smaller surface area, will have a greater acceleration due to the lower opposing force of air resistance. Conducting a simple kitchen experiment can help visualize these concepts and clarify the relationship between mass, air resistance, and acceleration. Understanding these principles is crucial for solving related physics problems.
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hi,
I have a problem that, conceptually, i do not get. I've looked through my physics book, and I still can't grasp it. If you just explain this one, i think ill catch on to the rest of the problems.

A cardboard ball has a mass of 0.1 kg. A sheet of identical carboard has the same mass, 0.1kg. The two pieces of carboard are allowed to fall. One of them feels an air resistance force of 0.5 N. The other feels an air resistance force of 0.1 N. Which force goes with which object? Which object has a greater acceleration while falling? (Try to answer without doing any math.)

Thanks! :biggrin:
 
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What do you know about air resistance's relationship with the size of the object (more importantly, the incident surface area). When you drop a ball and a piece of paper, which one is hindered more by air resistance?

For the second question, a force diagram should give you the answer.
 
if you can't conceptualize the problem, why don't you try to actually do it experimentally? It's not very hard to make this experiment in your kitchen and it might just give you the visualization you need for the next questions.
 
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