Answer:

Both objects, the stone and the ball, will hit the ground at the same time. This is because, in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass or initial velocity. This is known as the law of free fall or the law of acceleration due to gravity, which states that all objects will accelerate at the same rate (9.8 m/s²) towards the ground, regardless of their initial velocity or direction of motion. Therefore, both the stone and the ball will hit the ground with the same speed.