Spring Experiment
Aim:
To determine which of the two methods of finding Hooke’s law is more accurate.
Things, which might affect this, are:
· Downward force applied to spring.
· Spring material.
· Length of spring.
· No. Of coils in spring.
· Diameter of spring material.
· Cross sectional area of spring.
I have chosen to look at the effect of the weight applied.
Diagram:
Equipment – Clamp Stand, spring, rule, 100g weights.
Theory:
My theory is that the greater the weight applied to the spring, the further the spring will stretch. This is because extension is proportional to load and so if load increases so does extension and so stretching distance.
X F
Extension Load
F = kx where k = spring constant
Extension = New length – Original length
I will see if my theory is right by using Hooke’s law, which states that extension is proportional to the downward force acting on the spring.
Method:
For my first experiment I will basically attach a spring to a clamp stand, then place weights onto the bottom of the spring, after placing each weight onto the spring I will steady the spring as to get an accurate reading, then using a rule I can read off the extension of the spring in mm.
