Question

On being slightly disturbed from its equilibrium position, if a body

• A. neutral equilibrium
• B. stable equilibrium
• C. unstable equilibrium

Answer 1

A body is said to be in stable equilibrium if, when disturbed from equilibrium, it experiences a net force in a direction opposite to the direction of the displacement. For example, a marble at the bottom of a bowl will experience a restoring force when displaced from its equilibrium position and tries to come back to the equilibrium position.A body is in unstable equilibrium if, when displaced, it experiences a net force in the same direction as the displacement from equilibrium. A body in unstable equilibrium accelerates away from its equilibrium position if displaced even slightly. An example is a ball resting on top of a hill. Once displaced, it moves away from the top. A body is in neutral equilibrium if its equilibrium is independent of displacements from its original position. For example, a marble on a flat horizontal surface is in neutral equilibrium.