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Why Don't Quarters and Feathers Fall at the Same Acceleration When Dropped?

The first question that needs to be asked is, how many factors are acting on the coin and feather? Is the only force gravity?

Factors to consider

If gravity is the only force acting on the coin and feather, then they fall at the same acceleration despite the coin being heavier than the feather.

Gravity

If the coin and feather -however- are dropped through air, then air resistance must also be taken into account along with gravity. If gravity was the only force acting on the objects then they would accelerate at the same rate, but when you factor in air resistance the coin will win.

Air resistance

Air resistance is higher for larger objects than for smaller objects. When the object's speed is no longer increased by the air's delayed force and the downward pull of gravity, it has reached its "terminal velocity". Because the feather is lighter than the coin, the air resistance on it quickly accumulates to equalize gravity's pull. Then the feather loses speed and simply falls downward. Conversely, the heavier coin must drop for longer before gaining enough speed to balance the gravitational pull on it.

The concept of inertia is applied when you tighten your seat belt. During a car crash, seat belts protect your body from traveling forward since your body resists being stopped due to inertia of motion. So, until a force is applied to change your motion and put you at rest, you will not come to a complete stop. If you used a seat belt, the seat belt would work as an unbalanced force, preventing you from moving.

Physics in our every day

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