Can there be displacement of an object in the absence of any force acting on it? Think. Discuss this question with your friends and teacher.

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To do:

To check if there can be displacement of an object in the absence of any force acting on it.

Solution:

Yes. There can be displacement of an object in the absence of any force acting on it. Let us discuss how a displacement of an object is possible without any external force acting upon it

Explanation:

An object remains at rest or in motion until an external force is acted upon it. So, a force is responsible to bring an object into motion from the rest and vice-versa.

The force acting upon the object, $F=ma$

Here, $F\rightarrow$ Force applied

$m\rightarrow$ mass of the object

$a\rightarrow$ acceleration

If an object of mass $m$ is moving at a constant speed, there will be no acceleration.

Therefore, acceleration $a=0$

The force acting upon the object, $F=ma=m\times 0=0$

If $F=0$, then $a=0$      [since mass$(m)$ of the object can't be zero]

Displacement of an object in the absence of any force:

It is possible that there is a displacement of an object without any external force acting upon it when the object is either at rest or moving with a uniform velocity in a straight line.

Example of the displacement of an object without force:

A ball rolling down on a plane surface. Here the net force is zero while there is a displacement in the ball.

Updated on 10-Oct-2022 13:22:55