Neel Chaudhari 13/10/2019

Aim:
To investigate the validity of Hooke’s law and to establish the relationship between the
extension and the load, by finding the constant ‘k’.

Research Question:
Does the spring follow Hooke’s law, which states that force and extension are directly
proportional, and what is the spring constant?

Hypothesis:
I believe that the force applied to the spring is proportional to the extension of the spring.

Background:
Hooke’s Law states that the displacement experienced by the mass connected to the spring
is directly proportional to the force applied to the spring.
This is shown in the equation:
F=kx
Where F is force, x is the displacement and k is the spring constant.

Lab Design:
● Safety and Precautions:
○ We made sure to keep our feet away from the area directly under the spring
and the weights. This is to make sure that we will not injure ourselves in case
the spring breaks or the disconnects from the clamp stand.
● Making Readings:
○ When collecting our data, we made sure to read the ruler at eye level to make
sure that the reading is accurate.
○ We also repeated the experiment thrice to increase the accuracy of our data
collection.
Neel Chaudhari 13/10/2019

Independent Variable:
The extension of the spring, the displacement of the mass attached to the spring after the
force is applied.

Dependent Variable:
The force applied to the spring.

Controlled Variables:
● The air density remains the same
● The spring constant remains the same (same spring)

Apparatus:
● Spring
● Weights (50g-400g with 50g intervals)
● ½ Metre Rule
● Clamp Stand
● Wooden Blocks (to hold the spring in place)

Procedure:
1. Fix the spring to the clamp stand with the use of the 2 blocks.
2. Then add the weight.
3. Record the length of the spring before adding the weight and after adding the weight.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 thrice.
5. Finally, repeat steps 2 to 4 with different weights
Raw Data Table:
Neel Chaudhari 13/10/2019

Weight (N) Length 1 Length 2 Length 3

±0.2

0 0.06 0.05 0.06

0.49 0.11 0.10 0.09

0.98 0.14 0.14 0.14

1.47 0.19 0.22 0.21

1.96 0.27 0.25 0.26

2.45 0.31 0.31 0.31

2.94 0.37 0.34 0.34

3.43 0.40 0.40 0.40

3.92 0.46 0.44 0.46

Processed Data Table:

Weight (N) Extension 1 Extension 2 Extension 3 Avg. Extension Extension Uncertainty
±0.2 (m) (m) (m) (m) (m)

0 0 0 0 0 0

0.49 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.010

0.98 0.08 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.005

1.47 0.13 0.17 0.15 0.15 0.020

1.96 0.21 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.005

2.45 0.25 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.005

2.94 0.31 0.31 0.28 0.30 0.015

3.43 0.34 0.37 0.34 0.35 0.015

3.92 0.40 0.41 0.39 0.40 0.010

Neel Chaudhari 13/10/2019

Calculations:
● Uncertainties: ΔE= (max-min)/2

ΔE= (0.05-0.03)/2 =0.010 ΔE= (0.27-0.26)/2 =0.005

ΔE= (0.09-0.08)/2 =0.005 ΔE= (0.34-0.31)/2 =0.015
ΔE= (0.17-0.13)/2 =0.020 ΔE= (0.40-0.37)/2 =0.015
ΔE= (0.21-0.20)/2 =0.005 ΔE= (0.45-0.43)/2 =0.010
● Finding the Spring Constant:
F=kx
0.49±0.2 = 𝑥(0.04±0.01)
0.2/0.49 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.01/0.04) 𝑥=12.25
(0.2/0.49)-(0.01/0.04)= (Δ𝑥/12.25) Δ𝑥=1.9
𝑥=12.25±1.9

0.98±0.2 = 𝑥(0.08±0.005)
0.2/0.98 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.005/0.08) 𝑥=12.25
(0.2/0.98)-(0.005/0.08)= (Δ𝑥/12.25) Δ𝑥=1.7
𝑥=12.25±1.7

1.47±0.2 = 𝑥(0.15±0.02)
0.2/1.47 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.02/0.15) 𝑥=9.8
(0.2/1.47)-(0.02/0.15)= (Δ𝑥/10.5) Δ𝑥=0.03
𝑥=9.8±0.03

1.96±0.2 = 𝑥(0.20±0.005)
0.2/1.96 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.005/0.20) 𝑥=9.8
(0.2/1.96)-(0.005/0.20)= (Δ𝑥/9.8) Δ𝑥=0.8
𝑥=9.8±0.8

2.45±0.2 = 𝑥(0.25±0.005)
0.2/2.45 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.005/0.25) 𝑥=9.8
(0.2/2.45)-(0.005/0.25)= (Δ𝑥/9.8) Δ𝑥=0.6
𝑥=9.8±0.6

2.94±0.2 = 𝑥(0.30±0.015)
0.2/2.94 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.015/0.30) 𝑥=9.8
(0.2/2.94)-(0.015/0.30)= (Δ𝑥/9.8) Δ𝑥=0.2
𝑥=9.8±0.2

3.43±0.2 = 𝑥(0.35±0.015)
0.2/3.43 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.015/0.35) 𝑥=9.8
(0.2/3.43)-(0.015/0.35)= (Δ𝑥/9.8) Δ𝑥=0.2
𝑥=9.8±0.2
Neel Chaudhari 13/10/2019

3.92±0.2 = 𝑥(0.40±0.010)
0.2/3.92 = (Δ𝑥/𝑥)+(0.010/0.40) 𝑥=9.8
(0.2/3.92)-(0.015/0.40)= (Δ𝑥/9.8) Δ𝑥=0.3
𝑥=9.8±0.3

Graph:

Conclusion: The graph is consists of two straight lines, one where