LABORATORY REPORT

Course Code: SFT3033 MECHANICS

Semester 1 Session 2023/2024

NAME AND ID NUMBER WINNIE ANAK BAKIR (D20222105146)

LECTURER
DR. AFIQ BIN RADZWAN

EXPERIMENT NO. 1

TITLE HOOKE’S LAW

DATE & DAY 15 JANUARY 2024 MONDAY

Department of Physics
Faculty of Science and Mathematics
UNIVERSITI PENDIDIKAN SULTAN IDRIS
TITLE

Experiment 1: Hooke’s Law

OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the spring constant.

INTRODUCTION

Hooke’s law is an experiment that shows the relationship between the force
exerted on a spring and the amount of stretch or compression in the spring. In Hooke’s
law experiment, a spring with a weight connected to its end is hanging from a support.
The amount of stretch or compression in the spring is measured as the weight is added
or removed.

The results of the experiment show that there is a linear relationship between
the force applied to the spring and the amount of compression or stretch. This implies
that the amount of stretch or compression in the spring will double if the force applied
to it doubles. When the spring are stretched, the atoms and molecules deform until
stress is applied, and when the stress is removed, it will return back to the initial stated.
Mathematically, Hooke’s law states that the applied force F equals a constant k times
the displacement or change in length x. Hooke’s law is expressed as:

𝐹 = 𝑘𝑥

APPARATUS

1. Retort stand
2. Clamp
3. Springs
4. Slot mass
5. Ruler
6. Needles and tape (indicator)
PROCEDURE

1. The experiment was set up based on the given apparatus.

2. The initial reading of the spring with mass hanger, I0 was measured. The data were
recorded.
3. A slot of a mass m was put on the hanger and the reading on indicator, I was
recorded. The weight W = mg.
4. Step 3 was repeated for another eight values of m.

DATA

Spring A:
Initial reading, I0 = 11.8cm

Reading due to load, I Average

Mass, m spring
Reading #1 Reading #2 Reading #3 extension, x
20 18.0 17.8 18.0 6.1
40 23.9 23.9 23.8 12.1
60 29.5 29.8 29.8 17.9
80 36.0 36.0 36.2 24.3
100 42.5 42.5 42.5 30.7

Spring B:
Initial reading, I0 = 18.0cm

Reading due to load, I Average

Mass, m spring
Reading #1 Reading #2 Reading #3 extension, x
20 19.0 19.1 19.0 1.0
40 20.2 20.2 20.2 2.2
60 21.2 21.2 21.1 3.2
80 22.3 22.2 22.3 4.3
100 23.0 23.0 23.0 5.0
ANALYSIS

1. Plot the graph of restoring force, F versus extension x, for both springs in
one graph.

2. Calculate the spring constants for both springs.

Based on the graph;
Spring constant Spring A = 3.3N/m
Spring constant Spring B = 19.2N/m

3. Which spring is harder? Discuss briefly, relate your discussion with the value
of Spring Constant.
Spring B is harder than spring A. This is because spring B has higher spring
constant than spring A. The higher the spring constant is, the harder the spring.

4. Provide examples/applications of Hooke’s Law in your everyday life activity.

In daily life, Hooke's law has various applications. For example, in toy gun. The toy
gun consists of a spring attached to its back. When the trigger of a toy gun is
pressed, it releases the toy bullet and quickly gets recoiled with the help of a spring
attached to its base. This action of recoiling is based on Hooke’s law.
DISCUSSION

Based on the result of the experiment, we can conclude that when the masses
increase, the extension of the spring also increases. The force of an object is directly
proportional to the extension of spring.

From the graph, the value of spring constant for spring A is 3.3N/m and spring
B is 19.2N/m. By comparing the value of spring constant for spring A and spring B, we
can see that spring B has higher value than spring A. Therefore, it means that spring
B is harder than spring A.

Some precaution steps were taken during the experiment. For example, we
made sure that the spring was not shaking when we are taking the readings as this
will cause inaccurate results. When taking the readings, we also ensure that our eyes
are perpendicular to the ruler to avoid parallax error. Another precaution step was to
make sure the spring is not loaded beyond elastic limit. The spring will not return to its
original position if the elastic limit is exceeded. This will affect the accuracy of the
results.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the objective of the experiment was achieved as we obtained the spring
constant for both springs. Spring constant for spring A is 3.3N/m and spring B is
19.2N/m. In this experiment, the extension of the spring will change as the force
applied on the spring change. When the force applied on the spring increases, the
extension of the spring will also increase. The spring constant (k) is inversely
proportional to the extension of the spring. This is because, the force needed to stretch
the spring will increase as the spring constant (k) increases. Hooke’s Law stated that
the extension of a spring is directly proportional to the applied force by using the
formula, F = kx.
REFERENCES

Campbell, S. (2010, May 20). A Simple Explanation of the Spring Constant.

Saint Mary’s Physics Demos. https://www.demos.smu.ca/demos/mechanics/131-

spring-constant

Karthik (Ed.). (2023, May 5). Hooke’s law - definition, equations, applications, limitations.

BYJUS. https://byjus.com/jee/hookes-law/

Young, H. D., Ford, L. A., & Freedman, R. A. (2011). Sears & Zemansky’s University
Physics: Books a la carte edition (13th ed.). Addison-Wesley.