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MOUNTAIN DEW / Free fall?



One of my high school students broug a recent "Mountain Dew" commercial
to my attention. Two people are skydiving. One person is given a
Mountain Dew. Her parachute is NOT open, and she turns the can upside
down and pours the drink into her mouth.

Here's the question: If she is in free fall, will the drink REALLY pour
from the can? I considered the following demonstration. If a hole is
punched in the side of a cup filled with water and the cup is HELD IN
PLACE, the water pours from the hole. However, if the cup is released to
fall to the ground the water doesn't pour from the hole. Based on this
observation, I say "NO, the drink won't pour from the can." However,
that almost seems too easy! Am **I**missing something, or did the makers
of the commercial miss something?

Whether I'm right or wrong, it sort of made my day to have a student
(who's planning on being a Special Ed teacher--not an engineer!) come in
with a question like that. Hopefully this is a sign that he's taking
SOMETHING away from his physics class!

--Jennifer

*************************
Jennifer M. Seckinger
Evansville, IN 47712
jmssk8@juno.com
*************************

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