Physics SXP101A Mr Stumer

The Effect of Parallel Alignment on Elastic Potential Energy

Dominic Fern, William Turner

Luke Jennings

29-3-2024
Rationale
In the original experiment the aim was to find the elastic potential energy of a rubber band once more
weight is applied. This was achieved through weighing down rubber bands with 50g weights and
measuring the change in extension under teacher instruction. The experiment mainly focused on
elastic potential energy, “Energy stored as a result of applying a force to deform an elastic object. The
energy is stored until the force is removed and the object springs back to its original shape,
doing work in the process.” (Khan Academy, 2015), work causing the displacement of an object
(LibreTexts, 2015). The chosen research question for the modified experiment is “What is the effect
of parallel alignment on Elastic Potential Energy?”, and the hypothesis, that being that the rubber
bands will cause a decrease in elastic potential energy as more are added.

Procedure
The major modification that was made to the experiment was that instead of measuring one rubber
band, it was measured in parallel, up to 4 bands at a time. This was done through trialling each
amount of rubber bands 5 times, reminiscent of the original experiment also trialling five times.
Another modification made to the experiment was the use of new rubber bands each trial, as to avoid
rubber bands losing tension as they’re stretched. The procedure started with 1 rubber band, with
extension being measured every time a 50g weight was added in 0.5cm increments.

Results
 Relationship Between Applied Force and Ex-
tension of a Rubber Band
6
5
4
Force (N)

3
2 f(x) = 77.3684210526316 x + 0.438421052631579
1
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09

Extension (m)

Relationship Between Applied Force and Ex-

tension of Two Rubber Bands
6

5
4
Force (N)

3
f(x) = 217.777777777778 x − 0.108888888888889
2

0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03

Extension (m)

Relationship Between Applied Force and Ex-

tension of Three Rubber Bands
6

4 f(x) = 392 x − 0.686

Force (N)

0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016

Extension (m)
 Relationship Between Applied Force and Ex-
tension of Four Rubber Bands
6

4 f(x) = 490 x − 0.489999999999999

Force )N)

0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014

Extension (m)

Relationship Between Applied Force and Extension of Paral-

lel Rubber Bands
6

4
Force )N)

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09

Extension (m)

1 Band 2 Bands 3 Bands 4 Bands

Analysis
Looking at the graphs, there is a trend between all of them, some less than others, where the extension
of average increases as the force (weight) is increased, becoming less and less as you add more rubber
bands. However, as you add more rubber bands the uncertainty becomes more varied, as when
looking at 1 rubber band uncertainty increases as force is increased, but when looking at 4 rubber
bands it is constantly changing.

Evaluation
As mentioned before, the data becomes more unreliable as more rubber bands were added. This is
most likely caused by the measurements mentioned at the start, being in 0.5 increments, leading to
inaccurate changes (or lack of) in the data. This is why as more rubber bands are added, there is
higher variations in error due to the smaller, not measured values as more weight is added. An
obvious solution to this is to measure more precisely, as it would most likely reduce the error bars
significantly. Other causes for variations in the data is that the trials were done outside over the course
of 3 days, with all different weather conditions and temperatures, possibly affecting the rubber bands
elasticity and causing certain trials to get different results. This could be solved through testing inside
in a controlled environment. Overall, however, when looking at the trends in the data you can still see
an upwards trend, and when looking at the final graph a slow in this upwards trend is apparent as you
add more rubber bands, supporting our hypothesis that the rubber bands will cause a decrease in
elastic potential energy as more are added.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the hypothesis is supported through the data gathered in the modified experiment,
however improvements, such as controlling the environment tested in, precise measuring of extension,
and even increasing the number of trials to find more accurate data, as 5 trials is not many when there
are hundreds of rubber bands in one packet.

References
Khan Academy (n.d.). What is elastic potential energy? (article). [online] Khan Academy. Available
at: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/work-and-energy/hookes-law/a/what-is-elastic-
potential-energy#:~:text=Elastic%20potential%20energy%20is%20energy.
Physics LibreTexts. (2015). 7.1: Work- The Scientific Definition. [online] Available at:
https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/College_Physics/College_Physics_1e_(OpenStax)/
07%3A_Work_Energy_and_Energy_Resources/7.01%3A_Work-
_The_Scientific_Definition#:~:text=Work%20is%20the%20transfer%20of.

Appendices