200: PROPERTIES OF MATTER

FORCE & EXTENSION

EFFECTS OF A FORCE ON A BODY.
•A force is a ‘pull’ or a ‘push’ that one object exerts on another.
•If the force is great enough to overcome friction, the object being
pushed or pulled will move.
•Force is a vector quantity. It has both magnitude and direction.
•The action of pushing or pulling can change
a) the shape and size of an object,
b) the original state of motion such as a stationary object move, to
change its speed and its direction of motion.
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 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORCE & EXTENSION FOR ELASTIC
MATERIALS
Elasticity.
•Elasticity: The ability of a material to return to its original size and
shape when the external force acting on it is removed.

•Rubber and plastics are the examples of elastic materials.

•The property of elasticity can be seen in different tools or activities
as shown below.

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Bendable ruler Car bumper Rubber band Bow and arrow
 ELASTICITY IN SPIRAL SPRING
•Springs are normally very elastic. However, a spring can
permanently stretched if it is overloaded.
•The maximum weight that can be loaded on a spring so that it just
remains elastic is called the elastic limit of the spring.
•The diagram below shows three objects of different mass hanging
on a spring of the same type.
•The spring stretches the most when the
object with the biggest mass is loaded.
•The extension of the spring depends on the
force being applied.
•The greater the applied force, the longer
3 the extension of the spring.
 ELASTICITY IN METAL WIRE
•Copper is an interesting material because it shows both elastic and
inelastic behaviour.
•Copper wire can be stretched and it will only extend a short
distance elastically.
•With a greater load, the elastic limit is exceeded, and copper starts
to deform inelastically.
•The copper becomes longer and longer, and will not return to its
original length.

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 STRETCHING A COPPER WIRE
•The wire is rigidly clamped at one end
and stretched along the bench, over a
pulley.
•Weights are hung on the end.
•To the effect of increasing the load, a
‘flag’ made from Sellotape is attached
about 50 cm from the pulley.
•Careful observation shows that, beyond the elastic limit, the copper
gradually stretches even without increasing the load.
•The flag moves along the bench for several seconds and this
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behaviour is known as ‘creep’.
 ELASTICITY IN RUBBER
•A rubber band can be stretched in a similar way to a spring. The greater the load,
the greater the extension.
•However, if the weights are added with great care and then removed one by one
without releasing the tension in the rubber, the following can be observed:
The graph obtained is not a straight Eventually, increasing the load no
line. It has a slightly S-shaped curve longer produces any extension. The
which shows the extension is not exactly rubber feels very stiff and when the
proportional to the load and thus, load is removed, the graph does not
rubber does not obey Hooke’s law. come back exactly to zero.

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 HOOKE’S LAW
•Hooke’s law states that:

The extension of the spring is directly proportional to

the force acting on it provided the elastic limit of the
spring is not exceeded.

•If a force stretches a spring beyond its elastic limit, the spring will be
unable to return to its original length.
•Elastic limit of a spring: The maximum force that can be applied to a
spring such that the spring will be able to be restored to its original
length.

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•The diagram below shows the graph of force applied, F against the
extension of spring, x.
•In region OA, the spring is known to
obey Hooke’s law as the force
applied. F is directly proportional to
the extension of the spring, x.
•Point A is known as the elastic limit. The elastic limit of a spring is
the maximum force that can be applied to a spring such that the
original length of the spring can be restored when the force is
removed.

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•Beyond point A, it is known that the elastic limit is exceeded. In this
region, the spring no longer obeys Hooke’s law as the force is no
longer directly proportional to the extension.
•In other words, the spring experiences
permanent extension as its original
length is unable to be restored even if
the force applied is removed.
•From the F-x graph, the force applied, F is directly proportional to
the extension, x. F x
where F is the force applied F  kx
x is the extension of the spring

9 k is the force constant of the spring (spring constant)

 FORCE CONSTANT & STIFFNESS OF THE SPRING

•Force constant of a spring is the force required to produce one unit

of extension of the spring.
•Example: A spring with spring constant 4 Ncm-1 requires 4 N of
force to extend the spring by 1 cm.
F
Force constant, k
•Unit: Nm-1 or Ncm-1
x
•Force constant is also often referred as a measure of stiffness of a
spring.

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a) A load of 2.5 N extends spring A by 20 cm.

b) A load of 15 N extends spring B by 20 cm.

 Spring A requires 12.5 N to be extended by 1 m whereas spring B

requires 75 N for the same extension.
Force constant, k = Gradient of the graph
1) A larger value of k indicates a stiffer spring.
2) A steeper graph indicates a stiffer spring.
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•Example 1: The graph below shows the relationship between force,
F and the extension of the spring, x. Calculate the stiffness of the
spring.

•Example 2: A spring with original length 15 cm is compressed by a

load of mass 0.50 kg to a length of 12 cm.
a) Find the spring constant.
b) Calculate the length of the spring if the load of mass 0.50 kg is
replaced by a load of mass 0.80 kg.

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•Example 3: The diagram below shows a graph of stretching force, F
against the extension of the spring, x. Calculate the stiffness of the
spring.

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