Balanced & Unbalanced Forces

 

What are Balanced Forces?

If the resultant force of all the forces acting on a body sums up to zero, then the forces acting on the body are known as balanced forces. Let us look at some examples of balanced forces and understand how the body’s state of motion remains unaffected.

Balanced Forces Examples

Suppose you are pushing a wall, and as expected, the wall does not move and neither do you. It means that you and the wall are exerting a balanced force on each other.

When the man pushes against the wall, the forces at play balance each other, and as a result, the wall does not move.

The image below shows a game of tug of war between equally matched opponents. Neither of the participating teams can pull the other team towards themselves due to balanced forces.

A game of tug of war with equally matched opponents is an example of balanced force

The image displayed above is a game of tug-of-war between two equally matched teams. Neither of the teams is able to pull the opposing team towards itself. This is an example of balanced forces.

What are Unbalanced Forces?

When the resultant force acting on a body is not equal to zero, the forces acting on the body are known as unbalanced forces. The body acted upon by unbalanced forces changes its state of motion. Let us look at some examples of unbalanced forces to understand their nature better.

Unbalanced Forces Examples

Let us consider the same tug of war example that we discussed in the previous section.

When the forces are balanced, neither of the teams, but if the rope moves away in a particular direction or if a team wins, then the forces applied by both teams are unbalanced.

Practically anything that moves is a result of the exertion of unbalanced forces on it. If you kick a football and it moves from one place to another, it means that the unbalanced troops are acting upon it.

The ball moves from one place to another after it’s kicked. This is an example of an unbalanced force.

The image below shows two people on a seesaw. The person on the right is significantly heavier than the person on the left, and the seesaw is effectively tilted towards him. This is an example of unbalanced forces.

One person significantly heavier than the other creates a condition of unbalanced forces in a seesaw.

The above image shows two people on a seesaw. The person on the right is significantly heavier than the person on the left and the seesaw is effectively tilted towards him. This is an example of two unbalanced forces.

Differences Between Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

Some of the significant differences between balanced and unbalanced forces are listed below in the table.

Balanced Forces	Unbalanced Forces
The forces are equal in magnitude	The forces are unequal in magnitude
It does not cause any change in the state of motion of the object.	Causes change in the state of motion of the object.