Two Bodies in Free Fall You have traced the complex motion of a car. Now, you’ll trace and analyze the free fall of two balls of different sizes and masses. You will use the Tracker tool to analyze the motion. Before you start with your analysis, answer the following question.

Part A
Imagine that two balls, a basketball and a much larger exercise ball, are dropped from a parking garage. If both the mass and radius of the exercise ball are 3 times larger than the mass and radius of the basketball, which of the two balls do you think will reach the ground first? Make a hypothesis below and describe your reasoning.

Part C
Now observe the graph of the vertical velocity against time (vy vs. t). To do so, click the “y” label on the vertical axis and select “vy: velocity y-component” from the pop-up menu. What do you observe about the vertical velocity of the ball? What does this say about the mathematical relationship between y-velocity and time here?
Part D
Now, switch over to the Large Ball Drop Tracker and observe the graphs of vertical displacement against time (y vs. t) and the vertical velocity against time (vy vs. t) for the large ball, using the same process you did for the small ball. What can you say about the vertical displacement and velocity of the large ball?

Part E
For both Tracker experiments, calculate the average vertical velocity, where the time period is t = 0.00 second to t = 1.00 second. Consider only the magnitude of the displacement. Record your results to three significant figures. Comment: Which ball drops faster during the first second of the fall?

Part F
For both Tracker experiments, calculate the average vertical acceleration, where the time period is t = 0.10 second to t = 1.00 second. Consider only the magnitude of the vertical velocity in the calculations. Record your results to three significant figures.
Comment: How does the average acceleration of the two balls compare to the theoretical value of -9.81 meters/second2, and how do the accelerations of the two balls compare to each other?

Part G
Based on your observation of the Tracker videos and the calculations of average vertical velocity and acceleration, Why do you think the vertical acceleration values are not equal to the theoretical acceleration due to gravity, -9.81 meters/second2?
What can you say about your earlier prediction about which ball will land first? If your hypothesis was wrong, can you propose an alternate rationale for the observed results?