Final answer:
When the forces on an object are balanced, the object will either remain at rest or move at a constant velocity if it was already in motion. This is due to Newton's first law of motion, which states that objects will continue in their current state unless acted upon by an external force.
Step-by-step explanation:
Newton's First Law of Motion
According to Newton's first law of motion, when the forces on an object are balanced, the object will either remain at rest or move at a constant velocity if it was already in motion. This is because of the concept of inertia, which is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion. If there is no net external force acting on the object, it will continue its state of rest or motion.
For example, if a book is at rest on a table, the downwards force of gravity is balanced by the upwards force exerted by the table, resulting in a net force of zero. As a result, the book remains at rest. On the other hand, if a car is moving with a constant velocity and no other forces act on it, it will continue moving at that velocity.