Force
Forces and Motion

Talking about stationary objects

Teaching Guidance for 11-14 Supporting Physics Teaching

No resultant force

When talking about stationary objects it is a good idea to refer to there being

Teacher: … no resultant force…

or even

Teacher: … there are several forces acting on the object but they added up to nothing … we'll say that the resultant is zero.

We think it's best to avoid saying:

Teacher: The forces have cancelled out.

As forces are still actually there, present in the model. And they have to be, as their presence is as a result of the interactions of the object with its environment in the physical world.

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