Investigating how air resistance influences the motion of a penny and a feather

Abstract

This experiment aims to investigate the influence of air resistance on falling objects with different masses by comparing the motion at which a penny and a feather fall in environments with and without air. Creating a vacuum seal in the tube and using a high-speed video recorder, the position of each object was observed over time for five trials in each environment. In our air-filled environment, the feather fell significantly slower than the penny, almost floating downwards. On the other hand, in vacuum conditions, both objects exhibited similar position-time behavior. These results are consistent with air resistance significantly affecting the motion of low-mass, high-area objects such as feathers. In an environment without air resistance, objects experience a constant acceleration, resulting in increasing velocity over time.