UNIT CODE: SPH B404

UNIT NAME: PRACTICAL PHYSICS II

TASK: A LABORATORY REPORT ON HOOKE’S LAW EXPERIMENT.
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 15TH FEBRUARY 2022
GROUP SIX

NAME ADM NO TEL NO SIGN

1.ODONGO EVANS EB02/PU/40554/18 0792610482
2.MASINDE ROBINSON EB02/PU/40800/18 0748072570
3.KEVIN MAUTI EB02/PU/40532/18 0758523959
4.BRIAN KENYATTA EB02/PU/40541/18 0705770986
5.OMONDI SHEM EB02/PU/40548/18 0790677253
6.NYAMBOCHE HESBORN EB02/PU/40710/17 0798994351
7.OKOTH CAVIN EB02/PU/40571/18 0716624732
8.PRISCA MATINDE EB02/PU/40535/18 0746895248
9.VICTOR AJESA EB02/PU/40523/18 0792118461
10.MUSODZI MGONDI EB02/PU/40566/18 0797963133
11.JOHN ETOT EB02/PU/40626/17 0792228030
12.BRIAN MOOGI EB02/PU/40685/17 0798544363
13.RONALD REAGAN EB02/PU/40557/18 0701089558
14.NELLY WANYAMA EB02/PU/41917/16 0711229559

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TABLE OF CONTENT
COVER PAGE………………………………………………………1
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………2
TITLE……………………………………………………………….3

OBJECTIVES…………………………………………………….....3
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………3
THEORY…………………………………………………………4&5
APPARATUS………………………………………………………6
PROCEDURE………………………………………………………6
RESULTS…………………………………………………………..7

GRAPH……………………………………………………………..8
DISCUSSION……………………………………………………….9 &10
ERROR ANALYSIS………………………………………………..10
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………11
REFERENCE…………………………………………………………11

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 12TH FEBRUARY 2022
HOOKE’S LAW EXPERIMENT

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the experiment was to investigate the concept behind Hooke’s law.

ABSTRACT
The goal of the experiment was to investigate the concept of Hooke’s law.
The experiment entailed the conversion of the masses provided into weight (stretching force) ,hung it
on the elastic spring that was provided, recording the stretched length and then finding the extension.
The extension was just the difference between the stretched length and the initial length of the spring.
The weight or stretching force was simply calculated using the formula

w =mg
A graph of stretching force against extension was then plotted and the force constant calculated from
the slope.

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THEORY
Elasticity is the ability of a material to recover its original shape and size after the force causing
deformation is removed.
The ability of materials to undergo a reversible increase in length, similar to a spring is a property that
can be measured. This property is known as the Elastic Modulus or Young’s Modulus. Materials are
elastic only up to certain pulling force, after which they will not return to their original shape. This
point is called the Elastic limit.
The forces between the molecules in a solid account for its characteristic elastic or stretching
properties. When a solid is stretched, the spaces between the molecules increase slightly. The tension
felt in a stretched rubber band, for example, is due to all the forces of attraction between the
molecules in it.
Robert Hooke investigated and formulated a law relating the stretching force and extension. The law
states that for a helical spring or other elastic material, the extension is directly proportional to
the stretching force provided the elastic limit is not exceeded.
The relationship can be expressed in terms of force (F) and extension (e) .Hence,
F=ke, where
K is the constant of proportionality which depends on the material of the spring. The constant is
referred to as the spring constant.

K =

The SI Unit of K is therefore Newton per meter (NM -1)

A graph of stretching force (N) against extension (M) is a straight line from the origin having a
gradient equal to the force constant of the spring

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Fig 1: the spring constant.
The area under a force versus extension graph is equal to the work done in stretching the spring

Fig 2: work done in stretching a spring

NOTE: The restoring force is always in the opposite direction to the stretching force and therefore is
always negative.
Restoring force (F) = - Ke.

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APPARATUS
The apparatus used in this experiment included a spiral spring with pointer attached, a meter rule,
retort stand, two sets of clamps and bosses, and 20 g masses.

PROCEDURE
The apparatus were arranged as shown below

fig 3:stretching a spring.

The position of the pointer when the spring was unstretched was noted. A 20g load was suspended at
the end of the spring and the new position of the pointer noted. The loads were increased in steps of
20g and the reading of the pointer for each load recorded in a tabular form.

A graph of force against extension was then drawn and its gradient calculated.

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RESULTS

Initial length of the spring = 7.50cm = 0.075m

Mass in grams Stretching force (N) Stretched length in Extension ‘e’ in cm

cm

0.00 0.0000 7.50 0.00

20 0.02X9.81=0.1962 8.10 0.60

40 0.04X9.81=0.3924 9.50 2.00

60 0.06X9.81=0.5886 13.40 5.90

80 0.08X9.81=0.7848 15.90 8.40

100 0.1X9.81=0.9810 17.70 10.20

120 0.12X9.81=1.1772 19.50 12.00

140 0.14X9.81=1.3734 21.40 13.90

160 0.16X9.81=1.5696 23.60 16.10

180 0.18X9.81=1.7658 25.90 18.40

200 0.2X9.81=1.962 28.50 21.00

Stretching force (F) = Weight = Mass x acceleration due to gravity

Acceleration due to Gravity = 9.81m/s2 =9.81N/Kg

Example for 20g, F = =0.1962N

40g ; 0.04 X 9.81 =0.3924N

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DISCUSSION
A graph of stretching force against extension yielded a straight linear line from the origin. The graph
obeyed Hooke’s law.
The gradient of the graph was calculated as follows:

Gradient = ⁄ =

After converting all the measurements into their respective SI Units we had

Gradient =

= ⁄

=9.7826N/M.
As shown earlier the gradient of a graph of stretching force against extension yielded the Force
constant (spring constant) of the spring. Therefore our spring had a force constant of 9.7826N/M.
Also we attempted to calculate the work done in stretching the spring. In order to compress or stretch
a spring, work has to be done. One must exert a force on the spring equal in magnitude to the force
the spring exerts on you but opposite in direction. The force one exerts is in the direction of the
displacement x from its equilibrium position.
Fext =kx =ke
This was easily calculated since we were only to find the area under the graph. The shape under the
graph was a triangle.

Area of a triangle =

For our case, the base is given in terms of extension and the height represents the stretching force.
Work done in stretching or compressing a spring a distance e from its equilibrium position is
therefore given by:
2
Work done = = since F = ke

=0.198162 J : 1 J = 1Nm

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NOTE: The work done in stretching the spring is always positive since it is the dot product of applied
force and the displacement due to the applied force. If a spring is stretched, the direction of the
applied force and that of displacement are the same. The angle between the force and the
displacement is zero, which results in the positive work done by the force.

ERROR ANALYSIS
The experiment was done under perfect condition. However, there were some discrepancies in the
obtained values as the line did not exactly pass through all the plotted points. The main source of
errors would have resulted from the reading of the stretched length of the spring. The meter rule scale
should be read at eye level orthogonally and directly opposite the pointer .This is to avoid the parallax
error. Also we should use the slotted base to ensure that the meter rule is vertical.

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CONCLUSION
The scope of the experiment was to investigate the concept of Hooke’s law. The objective was
achieved after a drawn graph of stretching force against extension yielded a straight line from the
origin as was expected. The gradient of that graph yielded the Force constant of the spring. Even
though the experiment was carried out to our level best, there were some discrepancies in the
obtained values. This was due to the various errors which has been discussed and should be
minimized. The force constant of our spring was found to be 10N/M.

REFERENCES
i) Francis W.Sears , Mark W Zermersky and Hugh D Young. University Physics 6 th edition .
ii) Halliday R Resnicks S Walker (2011) Fundamentals of Physics New Jersey Willey and
sons’ publishers.
iii) https:Wikipedia.hooke’s law experiment.
iv) Pwani university laboratory manual.

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