Who among the following was the first to conclude that in vacuum all objects fall with the same acceleration g and reach the ground at the same time?
Galileo Galilei
Correct Answer: Option 2 – Galileo Galilei
Explanation:
Before Galileo, the Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.
Galileo Galilei challenged this idea and showed that, in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall with the same acceleration due to gravity, regardless of their mass.
He concluded that:
• Differences in falling speed are mainly caused by air resistance.
• In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate.
• Mass does not affect the acceleration due to gravity.
This principle was later demonstrated during the Apollo 15 Moon mission in 1971, when an astronaut dropped a hammer and a feather simultaneously, and both reached the surface at the same time because there was no air resistance.
Why the other options are incorrect:
Option 1: Albert Einstein
Einstein developed the Theory of General Relativity, which explained gravity in terms of spacetime, but he was not the first to state that all objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
Option 3: Thomas Alva Edison
Edison was a famous inventor known for the electric bulb, phonograph, and other inventions, not for studies of gravity.
Option 4: Isaac Newton
Newton formulated the Laws of Motion and the Law of Universal Gravitation, building on Galileo's earlier work.
Therefore, Galileo Galilei was the first scientist to conclude that all objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
Important Questions from Gravity
Who among the following is credited with postulating three laws of planetary motion?
When did Henry Cavendish report the measurement of the gravitational constant with the mass and density of the Earth?
Which of the following law states that, "The force between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses?"
Which of the following statements about the movement of planets is true?
A. A planet's orbit is elliptical with the Sun at one of two focal points.
B. The orbit of a planet is circular with the sun in the center.
C. The orbit of a planet is elliptical with another planet in one of the two center-points.
D. The orbit of a planet is circular with another planet in the center.
If the mass of a person is 60 kg on the surface of earth then the same person’s mass on the surface of the moon will be:
