Question

Why does a glass vessel break when it falls on a hard floor, but it does not break when it falls on a carpet?

Answer 1

When a glass vessel falls from a height on a hard floor, it comes to rest almost instantaneously, i.e. in a very short time, so the floor exerts a large force on the vessel and it breaks. However, if it falls on a carpet, then the time duration, in which the vessel comes to rest, increases, so the carpet exerts less force on the vessel and it does not break.