Eli5 If the equation for force is F=ma why does dropping the same object from 2 different heights change how much an object would be crushed?

Question

In science one year, we did a test of dropping a water bottle from different heights over a Pringle, and we had to protect the Pringle with a paper. But how would increasing the height increase the force is the mass and acceleration is the same?

In: 152

Answer 1

So when the water bottle hits the pringle it deaccelerates (negative acceleration) which exerts a force on the water bottle and the pringle, when you increase the height, the time that the water bottle spends accelerating increases, bigger velocity, means a bigger deacceleration, and therefore a bigger force