Investigating Springs

This practical lesson covers:

  1. How to determine the relationship between force and extension for a spring

Investigation to determine the relationship between applied force and extension of a spring


Aim:

To determine the relationship between force and extension for a spring.

Background information:

When a force is applied to a spring, it causes it to extend. Increasing the force increases the extension. This practical investigates how the extension varies with applied force for a spring, to determine if it obeys Hooke's law.

Variables:

Independent variable - Applied force  

Dependent variable - Extension of spring

Control variable - Same spring

What is the relationship between the force applied to a spring and its extension according to Hooke's law?

they are inversely proportional

they are unrelated

they are random

they are directly proportional

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Which of the following is the unit for the spring constant?

N/m

N2/m

Nm

Nm2

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How is the extension of the spring calculated?

extension = length − previous length in the result table
extension = length − original length
extension =length × orignial length
extension=original lengthlength​

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A spring of original length 3 cm is loaded with 6 N. The spring stretches to a new length of 33 cm. Calculate the spring constant of the spring.

20

N/m

N/m

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Sketch a graph to show how the force applied to a spring varies with its extension.

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