Hooke's Law

The aim of my investigation is to find out if Hooke's Law can be proved with a steal spring and to see what would happen if the spring is stretched beyond the elastic limit.

Planning

In this investigation the following safety rules were applied:

* Long hair was tied back to prevent it from getting in the way.

* People were not cramped together as they needed room to work.

* Goggles were worn to prevent eyes from getting damaged.

* People could not play with equipment.

* People could not run around in the science laboratory.

* Desks were cleared.

There were not to many strict safety precautions used, as the only potential danger was if the spring snapped.

My method of experimentation will be to use a clamp stand and boss clamp to suspend a spring from. A second boss clamp will hold in place a metre rule starting from the bottom of the spring to measure extension in cm. I will then add weights to the spring and measure extension. As I am doing this, I will record my results in a table. I will continue to do the tests until the spring will not return to its original shape. To make the tests fair I will use the same spring and set of weights each time. Also I will add the weight proportionally in 1 Newton (10kg) each time. Therefore the change in weight will remain the same.

My prediction is that Hooke's Law can be proved through a steel spring, as if the weight on the spring will increase so will the extension.

The apparatus needed to do this experiment are a steel spring, a metre ruler, a clamp and weights.
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Hooke's Law found that extension is proportional to the downward force acting on the spring. This tells me to look for the elastic limit when I am doing the experiment.

The key factors in my experiment are the weights and the spring. To not get incorrect results, I have to control these factors by putting on the weights gently to the spring. Also not to vary the Newton weights, by adding them proportionally.

The Load I intend to add to the spring will be in Newton weights. I will record the extension and the ...

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