Listen everyone! If there is no air, then gravity is the only force acting on the objects. Therefore all objects would accelerate at the same speed (9.8 meters/second/second) and would hit the ground at the same time. However, on Earth, air resistance (friction) affects all objects in a direction opposite its motion, so if some objects are more affected by friction, then they would fall slower. A beach ball and a bowling ball would not hit the ground at the same time for this reason. If you would like to see a bowling ball and beach ball hit the ground at the same time, go to the moon! I hope this helps. Sir Isaac Newton
Since the acceleration due to gravity is a constant for all objects, no matter what their mass, that means that all objects fall at the same rate—assuming the effect of air resistance is negligible. This is counterintuitive, since you would expect a heavy object to fall faster than an object that weighed less. But it is a fact. Try dropping two objects at the same time, from the same height, making sure they are heavy enough not to be affected by air resistance. You will see they hit the ground at the same time.
Assuming the balls were dropped from a great enough height to attain their respective terminal velocities the golf ball would hit the ground first. This is because the tennis ball has a larger surface area (and is usually rougher) which means it will create more drag which will cause more air resistance which will result in a lower terminal velocity.
It all depends on from how high you drop them. But you ALWAYS need to take the drag force into account.
Yes both balls will have the same downward acceleration due to the gravitational force, but they will have different upward accelerations due to drag.
F = ma F = m(g - d) = where d is the upward drag force.
Based on the above, the RESULTANT force on each ball would be different, even if they were the same mass, and the resultant force is what creates the downward acceleration.
It's not as simple as liner equations because drag force varies based on velocity, so some integration would be required.
The heavy ball will fall first than the lighter one only if there is air resistance. In a vacuum, both the objects will fall at the same time. In practical conditions, there will be an air resistance and hence the tennis ball will fall first. The foremost example of this concept is the Feather Vs ball.
The ball that have more mass or more density will hit the ground first. That is because it will acquire more speed when removed to hit the ground. It is like comparing a bundle of cotton and a bundle of stone.
