Title: Calibration Scales

Aim:
1. To calibrate the scale for mass using the extension of a spring.
2. To find the unknown mass of an object.
Theory:
1. What is calibration?
Calibration is an operation that under specific conditions establishes a relation between the
quantity values with measurement uncertainties provided by measurement standards and
corresponding indications.
2. Definition for extension.
The extension of a spring is the difference between the final length and the original length of the
spring when a mass is attached.
3. State Hooke’s Law. State what the elastic limit is.
Hooke’s law states that the extension produced by a spring is proportional to the force applied,
provided that the elastic limit is not exceeded. The elastic limit is the point beyond which any
further increase in the load applied to spring will produce a permanent stretch.
Apparatus:
Retort stand
Spring
Mass holder
Masses
Object of unknown mass
Pointer
Graph paper
Set square
Diagram:
Diagram 1: diagram showing how the apparatus was set up.
Method:
1. The apparatus was set up a shown.
2. The pointer was attached horizontally to the mass holder using tape.
3. The graph paper was attached to the side of the table.
 4. With no masses on the holder, the position of the pointer was marked on the graph paper.
5. A known mass was added to the holder and the graph page was marked with the new
position of the pointer and labelled according to the mass.
6. Step 5 was repeated by adding standard masses until 10 sets of readings were obtained.
7. The masses were unloaded and the position of the pointer with no masses was checked to
ensure it was at the same marking as before.
8. The unknown mass was placed on the holder and the position of the pointer was marked
and the line labelled as ‘x’.
9. The results were tabulated and a graph of mass vs extension was plotted.

Results:
Graph 1: Graph showing the markings for the respective masses:
Table 1: Table showing the masses used and their respective extensions:
Mass (g) Extension (cm)
0 0.0
30 0.8
60 2.0
90 2.8
120 4.4
150 5.0
180 6.2
210 7.4
240 8.4
270 9.6
The extension produced by the unknown mass is 5.8 cm.
Analysis:
Use the graph to read of the mass of the unknown object.
Calculate gradient
Discussion:
The set square was used to mark the graph w\as a precaution to avoid parallax error.