Final answer:
The question confuses Newton's 1st Law (Law of Inertia) with Newton's 2nd Law. The 1st Law states that objects maintain constant velocity unless a net force acts upon them, while the 2nd Law explains how an object's acceleration is proportional to the applied net force and inversely proportional to its mass.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement in the question contains a mix-up of Newton's Laws of Motion. Specifically, Newton's 1st Law, also known as the Law of Inertia, actually states that Every object will continue to be in a state of rest or move at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is compelled to change by an outside force. This means an object will not change its velocity (which includes constant velocity motion) unless a net external force acts upon it.
On the other hand, Newton's 2nd Law of Motion describes the relationship between an object's mass, the net external force applied to it, and its acceleration. It states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. Therefore, if an unbalanced or net external force acts on an object, it will accelerate, not move at a constant velocity.