[eli5] When resultant forces are equal on a falling object, why does the object still fall

Question

When weight acting downwards is equal to air resistance acting upwards why is the object falling???

In: 0

Answer 1

From the comments, you seem to be under the impression that non-zero net force causes movement. That is incorrect (although easy to see why intuition might lead you there).

Non-zero net force causes acceleration. Zero net force means zero acceleration. Zero acceleration means an object continues to move as it is currently moving.

In the case of an unmoving object, zero net force will result in it staying stationary (constant velocity). In the case you’re talking about where the object is already moving, zero net force means it will continue moving at constant velocity.