An astronaut on a mission to a large asteroid drops a scientific instrument. The instrument is released from rest from a certain height and falls to the surface.
The graph below shows how the velocity of the instrument changes with time from the moment it is released until it hits the ground.
Use the graph to calculate the acceleration due to gravity on this asteroid. State the unit.
Use the graph to calculate the height from which the instrument was dropped.
The gravitational acceleration on this asteroid is smaller than that on Earth. Suggest why.
The experiment is repeated on Earth where air resistance is significant. A dry leaf and a steel ball of the same size are dropped from the same height. The leaf reaches the ground after the steel ball, even though the maximum force of air resistance acting on the leaf is much smaller than that on the steel ball. Explain why the leaf takes longer to reach the ground.
