Sitting in your chair, you are experiencing a large gravitational force, yet nothing happens, because there are other forces acting ("The Force Of The Chair"). Just as zero is important to arithmetic and a balanced checkbook is important to your credit rating, the case of balanced forces is important to the study of motion, and to everyday life.

Main pages in this section	Estimated time required
Exploring Balanced Forces	15 minutes
Tow Truck	45 minutes
Science content: Balanced Forces	30 minutes
Discussion of the unit on Balanced Forces	15 minutes

Materials needed for this section

• Cart*
• Force scale*
• Ramp*
• Measuring Stick

Supplementary material:
Why study balanced forces?
Examples of balanced forces

Next section:Force and energy