What term describes an object whose motion increases and becomes more divergent over time?

What term describes an object whose motion increases and becomes more divergent over time?

• A. Positive dynamic stability
• B. Neutral dynamic stability
• C. Negative dynamic stability
• D. Instability

Answer: (C)

Dynamic stability looks at how a system responds after a small disturbance. If the disturbance dies away, you have positive dynamic stability. If it stays the same size, that’s neutral dynamic stability. If the motion grows and the deviation from equilibrium becomes larger over time, the system is showing negative dynamic stability—the perturbation is amplified and the motion diverges. In everyday terms, it’s unstable because small nudges lead to bigger and bigger changes. While “instability” describes the same outcome, the precise term used here is negative dynamic stability, which specifically indicates a growing response to disturbance.

Dynamic stability looks at how a system responds after a small disturbance. If the disturbance dies away, you have positive dynamic stability. If it stays the same size, that’s neutral dynamic stability. If the motion grows and the deviation from equilibrium becomes larger over time, the system is showing negative dynamic stability—the perturbation is amplified and the motion diverges. In everyday terms, it’s unstable because small nudges lead to bigger and bigger changes. While “instability” describes the same outcome, the precise term used here is negative dynamic stability, which specifically indicates a growing response to disturbance.