Balanced and unbalanced forces
Tanusri Gururaj, Academic content writer of Physics at Edumarz
To understand balanced and unbalanced forces, let us take an example.
Let us assume that two people, ‘A’ and ‘B’ are trying to move a big cardboard box from opposite sides.
Case 1:
Both A and B apply the same force from opposite ends.
Hence, both forces cancel each other out and, the box remains stationary.
In this situation, the forces are balanced.
Case 2:
Person ‘A’ applies more force than person ‘B’ and, the box starts moving towards A.
In this situation, the forces are unbalanced and, the object will start moving in the direction where more force is applied.
The forces acting on an object are balanced if the sum of all forces acting on it is zero.
When balanced forces are applied on a body, it maintains its original state. This means that if a body is in a state of rest, it will continue to do so.
The forces acting on an object are unbalanced if the sum of all forces acting on it is not zero.
Unbalanced forces acting on an object change the state of motion.