Do heavier men hit the ground with more speed than lighter men when they fall from height?

[Vivaldi]

Do heavier men hit the ground with more speed than lighter men when they fall from height?

[EricSummer]

In a vacuum they would hit the earth at the same speed. However, the resistance of the air changes the outcome. The position assumed in the fall also has an influence.

Let's assume they both assume the same posture horizontally with outstretched arms and legs. In that case, the heavier man will fall faster as the lighter man has more surface for every stone of weight to pick up air resistance.

Interestingly, a child will instinctively give the right answer. Education will mislead some of us to give a wrong answer.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Speed of falling depends how long you fall and how you keep your body during the fall.

Once you fall for a long period of time, eg when skydiving, you will reach terminal velocity.
At this point your body no longer accelerates, as the friction from the air slows you down, the same amount gravity will pull you down.

When this point is reached, depends heavily how you act, eg, spreading arms and legs and creating a bigger surface area slows you down more, compared to a head first fall.

On earth the gravitanional pull is 9.8meters per second². As you can see the mass of an object has no influence on how speedy you fall. Mass becomes important when calculating the damage when you hit the ground.

[Vivaldi]

According to this website, the greather the height, greater the speed. It also doesn't take weight into account.

For 200 km/h speed, 158 meter height

For 300 km/h speed, 355 meter height

It always increases by height

https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/free-fall

[Jessica405]

No. Two different objects will fall at the same rate when released together. The only exception is wind resistance which governs the objects terminal velocity. Like a feather has a very low terminal velocity.

[Anemone978]

Yes.. lol
I know from experience... I did this obstacle course and hopped over this wall thing and smashed into the ground on my back.. and hurt my stomach in the front.. lol

[WindAtMyBack]

Not that you could measure. You have to assume that a heavier person is larger than a lighter person. So there would be a slight difference due to wind resistance. In which case the heavier person would hit the ground at a slower speed, not faster speed.

You could also claim that a heavier person is more likely to be taller, with a higher center of gravity. So they'd have longer to accelerate before hitting the ground.

In practical terms their weight doesn't matter.

[Drumlin2001]

Not more speed, they will both fall at 9.8 m/s (gravity). But heavier person would have more momentum, so force of hitting the floor will be greater

[magiusX26]

google "terminal velocity" and not the movie of the same name. it is a scientific term that answers your question.

[exitseven]

No. the acceleration of gravity is 32 feet/second+2. The mass is immaterial.

[Likes2drive]

Not according to newtons law, but the mass will certainly make a difference at impact

[warsevf]

Dude lol, Oh my god, I dont know the answer but i am laughing for few minutes non stop

[leahzrc]

heavier objects hit the ground first