Unbalanced Forces
Balanced forces do not cause a change in motion. When balanced forces act on an object at rest, the object will not move. If you push against a wall, the wall pushes back with an equal but opposite force. Neither you nor the wall will move. Forces that cause a change in the motion of an object are unbalanced forces. Unbalanced forces are not equal and opposite.
What is an Unbalanced Force?
A force where two forces acting in opposing directions on a body are not equal in magnitude and in size is known as an unbalanced force. In an unbalanced force, a body changes its position i.e. we can observe a moving object changing its direction. Either increasing the speed or decreasing the speed and a body at rest starts to move and vice versa.
Example: Suppose that one of the teams in tug of war pulls harder than the other team. The forces would no longer be equal. One team would be able to pull the other team in the direction of the larger force.
Unbalanced Forces can cause:
- A still object to move.
- A moving object to speed up or slow down.
- A moving object to stop.
- A moving object to change direction.
Examples of an Unbalanced Forces:
- When we kick a football, it is an example of unbalanced force where the force applied by the foot changes the state of rest of the ball.
- If two students push on opposite sides of a box sitting on the floor, the student on the left pushes with less force on the box than the student on the right side of the box.