What Falls Faster, a Tennis Ball or a Golf Ball?

When dropped from the same height in a vacuum, both a tennis ball and a golf ball would fall at the same rate. This is because the force of gravity acting on each ball is the same, and the air resistance is negligible.

However, in the presence of air, the golf ball falls faster than the tennis ball. This is because the golf ball has a smaller cross-sectional area than the tennis ball, which means that it experiences less air resistance. The air resistance acts as a drag force that opposes the motion of the ball, so the smaller the cross-sectional area, the less drag force the ball experiences.

In addition, the golf ball is denser than the tennis ball, which means that it has more mass. This also increases the force of gravity acting on the golf ball, causing it to fall faster.

Therefore, in the presence of air, a golf ball falls faster than a tennis ball.

  1. What is the terminal velocity of a tennis ball?
    • The terminal velocity of a tennis ball is about 30 m/s.
  2. What is the terminal velocity of a golf ball?
    • The terminal velocity of a golf ball is about 50 m/s.
  3. Why does a tennis ball bounce higher than a golf ball?
    • A tennis ball bounces higher than a golf ball because the coefficient of restitution is higher for the tennis ball.
  4. What is the coefficient of restitution?
    • The coefficient of restitution is a measure of how much energy is lost during a collision.
  5. What is the cross-sectional area of a tennis ball?
    • The cross-sectional area of a tennis ball is about 50 cm^2.
  • Wilson US Open Tennis Balls
  • Callaway Golf Balls
  • Head Graphene Touch Radical Racquet
  • Yonex Nanoray 900 Badminton Racquet
  • Babolat Pure Aero Racquet

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