Originally Posted by
Darkrider23
Weight has nothing to do with how fast you descend. Gravity pulls you down at 32 ft/s no matter how fat you are.
BBZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!!!!!
Oh! Sorry, but no.
Gravity accelerates things towards earth as a rate of 32 ft/s
/s - every second that passes while an object is falling it gains another 32 ft/s of velocity...
But this is only really true in a vacuum with no other objects exerting force on the falling body. If you drop a feather and a bowling ball at the same time which will hit the ground first? In real life it is the bowling ball (aerodynamic resistance will play a large role in slowing the feather), but in a total vaccum they would hit the ground at the same time (in a vacuum no air = no aerodynamic resistance). If two riders are of approximately the same dimension but one is considerably heavier (like one rider has lead weights strapped all over his body) the heavier rider will be able to coast downhill faster.