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Unbalanced Force Definition

An unbalanced force changes an object's motion by being stronger than another. For example, it can make a resting object start moving.

View Lesson on Balanced & Unbalanced Forces
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Balanced & Unbalanced Forces

LESSON MATERIALSmove

Fun Facts

  • Dropping a ball involves unbalanced forces due to gravity.
  • Cutting a tug of war rope causes motion from unbalanced forces.
  • If you let go of a toy when a dog is tugging, the dog will fall backwards because of an unbalanced force.

Why Do We Need To Know About Unbalanced Force

Learning about unbalanced forces shows why things move in certain ways. This idea is important for designing and launching rockets because if you don’t apply forces correctly, the rocket won’t go where it’s supposed to. People who want to be scientists or engineers should understand forces well.

Knowing about unbalanced forces is also key in sports, building cities, making new products, and in technology. For example, athletes use unbalanced forces to get better at their sports, and engineers use these ideas to make roads safer and come up with cool things like hoverboards. This shows that unbalanced forces are used in many different jobs and areas, making it an important thing for students to learn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Izzy’s golf ball fail to go in the hole?
Izzy hit the ball too hard. He used too much STRENGTH when applying a force.
What was the difference between Zoe’s first and second golfing attempts in terms of force?
In Zoe’s first attempt she used the right amount of STRENGTH when applying a force to the ball, but did not know the right direction because she was wearing a blindfold. In Zoe’s second attempt she applied just the right amount of strength and knew the right direction to win. (A force has both strength and direction.)
How did Zoe make Izzy fall down while they were playing tug of war?
When Zoe pulled with a lot of force while Izzy wasn’t pulling at all, the strength of the force was greater in Zoe’s direction. That made Izzy move in that direction.
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