You are in distant space, where there is no gravity. You hold two blocks of metal. They look and feel identical when touched, but you been informed that one is made of lightweight aluminum and the other of lead. Can you determine which one is lead without doing any kind of chemical analysis?
A) You can determine this by dropping them; the lead ball will fall fastest.
B) You can determine this, by tapping each block with your finger; the one that accelerates the most is aluminum.
C) You can determine this by dropping them; the aluminum ball will fall fastest.
D) You can determine this by giving each block a tap with your finger; the one that accelerates the most is the lead.
E) The above methods will not work.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In a zero-gravity environment, tapping the blocks will cause them to accelerate. The block with less mass (aluminum) will accelerate more when tapped with the same force.

You Are in Distant Space, Where There Is No Gravity