Question

When a rubber ball is pressed between hands, its shape changes. This happens because of
(a) Balanced forces acting on the ball
(b) unbalanced forces acting on the ball
(c) Gravitational forces acting on the ball
(d) Frictional forces acting on the ball

Answer 1

Balanced forces and unbalanced forces are two categories of force being applied on a body. The direction plays an important role in evaluating the force. The force is said to be applied on a body when there happens a change in the body.

Complete step by step answer:
-As we know, Newton’s first law of motion describes that a body tends to be in a state of inertia unless experienced with an external force. The force considered here is an unbalanced force. This is because; an unbalanced force is the one that can produce motion on a body. Or we can say, an unbalanced force doesn’t get balanced by other forces and hence tends to result in motion of the body.
-While the balanced force is the one that gets balanced by another force. That is, this force does not produce any motion. But sometimes it may result in the change in the shape of the body. So in the case that we consider, when a rubber ball is pressed between hands, it experiences a balanced force and hence its shape changes.
Therefore the correct option is (a) balanced forces acting on the ball.

Note: To determine if the forces acting upon an object are balanced or unbalanced, an analysis must first be conducted to determine what forces are acting upon the object and in what direction. If two individual forces are of equal magnitude and opposite direction, then the forces are said to be balanced. An object is said to be acted upon by an unbalanced force only when there is an individual force that is not being balanced by a force of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction.