Air Resistance

Who is Galileo?​

Galileo, the 16th-century Italian scientist, studied gravity and the motion of objects. It is said that in one of his experiments, he dropped two objects of different sizes from the Tower of Pisa to see if they would fall at the same rate. Although he may not have actually done this, his writings describe what he thought would happen: if gravity is the only force acting on the objects, they would reach the ground at the same time.

During the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, the Falcon spacecraft landed on the Moon, and an astronaut demonstrated Galileo's experiment. Watch as the astronaut drops a falcon feather and a hammer to see if they reach the ground at the same time. What do you think will happen? 

Go to the next page. Watch the video and answer the two questions.

Home

Open in new tab

Copy link

Air Resistance

Also known as 'drag,' air resistance is a force caused by air. The air particles hit the front of an object, causing it to slow down. The greater the surface area, the greater the number of air particles hitting the object and the greater the overall resistance.

There are two main things that affect air resistance- the speed of the object, and size of the object. The faster an object is going, the more air resistance there'll be. It's the same for a large object; an increased size leads to an increased amount of air resistance.

​Modern-Day Inventions Using Air Resistance
 

One of the most common inventions that uses air resistance is the parachute.  A parachute helps people fall slowly from the sky by creating a large surface area that catches a lot of air.  The parachute increases air resistance, which slows down their fall and makes landing safe. 

Follow the directions on your recording sheet in your science journal. Complete the investigations and answer the follow up questions.