What happens to an object at rest when unbalanced forces act on it?

When unbalanced forces act on an object at rest, the object will move in the direction of the net force. According to Newton's first law of motion, an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net external force. If the forces are unbalanced, this indicates that the total force acting on the object is not zero, resulting in a net force that compels the object to start moving.

The net force determines the direction of the movement. For instance, if one side of the object experiences a greater force than the other side, the resultant motion will be in the direction of the greater force. This principle is fundamental in understanding how forces affect motion and is a key concept in physics, illustrating the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration, as established in Newton’s second law of motion.