Hooke's Law Investigation.

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Hooke's Law Investigation

Introduction -

Hooke's Law is when forces are applied to a solid object and it can

result in extension or compression. Hooke's Law is able to predict how

a spring (or other stretchable object) would behave when force is

applied to it. I am trying to find out what factors effect the

stretching of a spring.

The variables are:

Ÿ Downward force applied to spring.

Ÿ Spring material.

Ÿ Length of spring.

Ÿ No. of coils in spring.

Ÿ Diameter of spring material.

Ÿ Cross sectional area of spring.

I have chosen to look at the effect of the weight applied, as it is a

continuous variation.

Predictions -

I predict that the greater the weight applied to the spring, the

further the spring will stretch. This is because extension is

proportional to load and so if load increases so does extension and so

stretching distance.

Extension = Original length - New length

To see if my prediction is correct I will experiment, and obtain

results using Hooke's Law. Hooke's Law states that in an elastic

material strain is proportional to stress.

The point at which a material ceases to obey Hooke's Law is known as

its elastic limit. This means that extension is proportional to the

downward force acting on the spring.

Hooke's Law is: F= ke

F = Force in Newtons

k = Spring constant

e = Extension in Meters

Equipment Needed -

Ÿ Clamp stand and 2 boss clamps

Ÿ Meter ruler

Ÿ Spring

Ÿ 10 x 1N weights

Method -

My method of experimentation will be to use a clamp stand and boss

clamp to suspend a spring from. A second boss clamp wi...

... middle of paper ...

...emed to be very accurate. They all followed a pattern

until they reached the elastic point. After they had hit the elastic

point the results became harder to record because they were so varied.

Also some of the measurements could have been slightly inaccurate

because I was using a mater ruler. To make sure that all my results

were accurate I would have to have more time and be able to repeat

them again. Further investigations could use Young´s Modulus This was

created by Thomas Young and gives a number representing (in pounds per

square inch or dynes per square centimetre) the ratio of stress to

strain for a wire or bar of a given substance. According to Hooke´s

law the strain is proportional to stress, and therefore the ratio of

the two is a constant that is commonly used to indicate the elasticity

of the substance.

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