When you apply force and move an object what happens?

Answer 1

The quick answer is that you are overcoming inertia, which is the amount of force needed to cause an object to move from rest.

When a force is applied to an object work is being done on it. Work is the transfer of energy from object to another. So when you apply force and move the object, you are transferring energy to that object. For the object to move it must overcome several forces, the main of these being friction which is a combination of gravity and surfaces particles rubbing against one another. The others are usually going to be mostly neglegable or non applicable and include wind resistance, magnetic forces, outside gravitational forces, and so on.

In addition to that, force will be exerted back on you.

Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

When you apply force and move an object it exerts force back on you equal to the force you are applying. If you have enough mass and friction with the surface you are on top of, you should remain stationary. If you don't have enough mass and friction, then will be moved by the object in the opposite direction that you are pushing the object.

A way to imagine this is by thinking of pushing a heavy object on a wooden floor with sneakers on. Then imagine doing the same thing but with socks on and the wooden floor has just been polished so is very slippery. In the first scenario, given that you are strong and heavy enough, you will move the object forward. In the second scenario, the object will move you backward.