Do heavy objects fall faster than light objects?

This week the Middle syndicate has been learning about Gravity. Gravity is the force that pulls all objects down towards earth. If we did not have gravity we would all be floating around and life would be pretty hard.

Imagine a bowling ball and a soccer ball. They are the same size and shape but the bowling ball is heavier than the soccer ball. If you dropped them both from a high place at the same time which would hit the ground first?

Most of the children in the Middle syndicate thought that the heavier bowling ball would hit the ground first. So to find out we did an investigation.

We tested pairs of objects that were the same size and shape but different weights. We then held them out level and dropped them at the same time. It was hard trying to decide which object hit the ground first or if they landed together.

We recorded our results on a chart.

Overall we found out that the objects fell to the ground at the same time. This is because size and shape affect how objects fall not weight.

Some people thought that if the objects were different sizes they would fall at different speeds. So we tested this using a flat piece of paper and a screwed up piece of paper. The screwed up piece of paper hit the ground first and the flat piece of paper floated down slowly. WHY?

After thinking about this for a while we decided that...

• Objects that are the same size and shape, but different weights, fall at the same speed because they can push through the air.
• If 2 objects are different shapes but the same weight they will fall at different speeds because the air slows bigger objects down.

Science was hard this week but Miss Harrison was impressed with all the good thinking and explaining that the students did!!!! WELL DONE.