Force: Hooke’s Law & Circular Motion (Lesson 3)

Lesson objectives:

 Plot and interpret extension–load graphs and describe the associated

experimental procedure
 State Hooke’s Law and recall and use the expression F = k x, where k is
the spring constant
 Recognise the significance of the ‘limit of proportionality’ for an
extension–load graph
 Describe qualitatively motion in a circular path due to a perpendicular
force

As we learnt previously, force can change the shape of an object. When force is exerted
on a spring, the spring will either be compressed or stretch.

Hooke’s Law:
The extension of a spring or wire is directly proportional to the force
applied provided the limit of proportionality is not exceeded.

Directly proportional means that if the force is doubled, the extension is also doubled.

An extension-load graph will hence be a straight line and pass through the origin (0,0)
(means that when zero load is applied, there is zero extension).

Experimental procedure
  Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram.
 A single mass (0.1 kg, 100g) is attached to the spring, with a pointer attached to
the bottom, and the position of the spring is measured against the ruler.
 The mass (in kg) and position (in cm) are recorded in a table.
 A further mass is added and the new position measured.
 The above process continues until a total of 5 - 7 masses have been added.
 Once measurements have been taken:
o The force on the spring can be found by multiplying the mass of the spring
(in kg) by 10 N/kg (the gravitational field strength).
o The extension of the spring can be found by subtracting the original
position of the spring from each of the subsequent positions.

Results can be tabulated in a table like the one below:

Mass/kg Load/N Extension/cm

0.100 1.0
0.150 1.5
0.200 2.0
0.250 2.5
0.300 3.0
0.350 3.5
0.400 4.0

Then, a graph of load against extension can be plotted.

load/N

extension/cm

As can be seen the graph obtained will be a straight line through the origin.
 The relationship between Load (Force) and extension is hence directly
proportional:

where k is the spring constant, F is the load and e (or sometimes x) is the extension. It is
also a measure of the stiffness of a spring.

𝐹
𝑘=
𝑥

The unit for the spring constant is N/m or N/cm. It tells how much load a spring will
carry for it to extend by 1 m or 1 cm.

The higher the spring constant k, the stiffer the spring (the harder for it
to extend).

When a load-extension graph is drawn, it can be found by finding the gradient of the
graph.

Worked Example

A spring extends by 2 cm when a force of 10 N is applied to it. What is the spring

constant of the spring?
𝐹
𝑘=
𝑥
10
𝑘=
2

𝑘 = 5𝑁/𝑐𝑚

However, there is a limit to which a spring will extend proportionally to the load applies
until it will no longer obeys Hooke’s Law.
Limit of proportionality of a spring is the maximum load that can be
applied to a spring until it no longer obeys Hooke’s Law, i.e. the load-
extension graph no longer follows a straight line.

When an elastic object is stretched beyond its limit of proportionality, the object does
not return to its original length when the force is removed. The object (normally a
spring) is said to have permanently deformed, i.e. it has a permanent extension.

CIRCULAR MOTION

From Newton’s first law of motion it is known that an object will remain stationary, or
keep moving at constant velocity in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced
force. When an object moves in a circular path its direction is changing all the time
therefore according to Newton’s first law there must be an unbalanced force acting
upon it all the time.

When an object moves in a circle although its speed is constant the direction is
continuously changing. Therefore its velocity is continuously changing as velocity is
speed in a particular direction. The changing velocity in time means the object is
accelerating all the time.

The resultant force which causes this acceleration is the centripetal

force.

The centripetal force always acts toward the centre of the circle.
If a ball is tied to the end of a strong string and swung in a circle, the ball accelerates
towards the centre of the circle. The centripetal force which causes the inwards
acceleration is from the tension in the string caused by the person’s hand pulling the
string. If the string breaks there is no longer a resultant force acting on the ball, so it will
continue its motion in a straight line at constant speed.

(note: the formula for centripetal force is not in the syllabus).

For any objects moving in a circular motion, the centripetal force is as a result of
another type of force. For example, a car moving around a bend experience a force
towards the centre of the motion, and this force is as a result of friction between the
tyres and the ground. Similarly, when the moon orbits around the Earth, it experiences
centripetal force which acts towards the centre of the Earth, and this is caused by the
gravitational pull of the Earth.