Which term describes a condition where the net force on an object is zero?

Which term describes a condition where the net force on an object is zero?

• A. Constant velocity
• B. Equilibrium
• C. Rest
• D. Acceleration

Answer: (B)

Equilibrium is the balance of forces. When the net force on an object is zero, there’s no acceleration, so the object's velocity doesn’t change. That means it could be at rest or it could be moving with a constant velocity. Rest is a specific static example of equilibrium, while moving with constant velocity is a dynamic example. If there were any acceleration, that would mean a nonzero net force, so it wouldn’t be in equilibrium. The key idea is that equilibrium describes the state where all forces cancel and nothing accelerates.

Equilibrium is the balance of forces. When the net force on an object is zero, there’s no acceleration, so the object's velocity doesn’t change. That means it could be at rest or it could be moving with a constant velocity. Rest is a specific static example of equilibrium, while moving with constant velocity is a dynamic example. If there were any acceleration, that would mean a nonzero net force, so it wouldn’t be in equilibrium. The key idea is that equilibrium describes the state where all forces cancel and nothing accelerates.