Hooke’s law

Background Information:

In the 1600s, Robert Hooke, a physicist from England, undertook the study of elastic materials. He created a new
law, called Hooke’s law, which states that stretching an elastic material gives you a force that’s directly proportional
to the amount of stretching you do. For example, if a spring is stretched distance x, a force will be resulted that’s
directly proportional to x: F = kx

Where k is the spring constant. In fact, the force F resists the pull, so it pulls in the opposite direction, which means it
has a negative sign: F = –kx

Hooke’s law is valid as long as the elastic material stays elastic. The object stretched has to stay in its elastic ability. If
you pull a spring too far, it loses its stretchy ability, for example. In other words, as long as a spring stays within its
elastic limit, you can say that F = –kx, where the constant k is called the spring constant. The constant’s units are
Newtons per meter. When a spring stays within its elastic limit, it’s called an ideal spring.

The aim of this experiment is to understand how the amount of weight added to a spring is directly proportional to
the deformation of the spring and thus prove Hooke’s law.

Hypothesis:

An increase in force upon the spring will result in an increase in extension. The extension of the spring is directly
proportional to relationship to the forces applied. This is because the greater the stretching force the greater the
separation of the atoms of the spring. This will result in the spring having greater length and so greater extension.

Apparatus:

1x helical spring

8x 0.050kg weights

1x 1m ruler

spring

ruler

weights
Procedure:

1. The apparatus was set up as displayed in the diagram above. A flat base was used to secure the metre stick
and ensure that was vertical.
2. The starting value from the metre ruler was measured and record in a suitable table. This was the initial
length of the spring for zero mass.
3. A weight was then added to the bottom of the spring and then the length of the stretched spring was
recorded in the table.
4. Step 3 was then repeated 7 more times each time adding another weight on top of the previously added
weight.

Risk Assessment:

Risk Injury Precaution

At the start of the practical all

bags are to be put underneath
Tripping over objects in class Minor bruises and cuts the desks and desk are to
pushed inwards away from
work areas.
The spring is to be kept away
Spring falling over Minor bruises and cuts
from the edge of the desk

The spring is stretched and

Temporary blindness or Safety goggles must be worn
could fly off and hit someone
permanent blindness throughout the experiment.
in the eye.

Independent Variable: The stretching force F. This is the weight attached to the spring and is calculated using

W = mg.

Dependent Variable: The extension of the spring.

Control Variables: The material of the spring, and the cross section are of the spring. These are kept the same by not
changing the spring during the experiment. Remember - these variables are controlled (or kept the same) because to
make it a fair test, only 1 variable can be changed, which in this case is the stretching force (i.e. the weight attached
to the spring).

Graph:
Hooke's Law
0.2
f(x) = 0.02 x − 0.02
0.18
0.16
0.14
Extension (Cm)

0.12
0.1
0.08 Figure 2 extension of the spring
0.06 vs force applied
0.04
0.02
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Force (N)
Table:
 Mass, m (kg) Force, F (N) Extension, x (m)

0.050 0.49 0.02

0.100 0.98 0.04

0.150 1.47 0.06

0.200 1.96 0.09

0.250 2.45 0.105

0.300 2.94 0.125

0.350 3.43 0.145

0.400 3.92 0.172

Figure 1 Results table

The force is newtons is calculated using the formulate f =ma where the mass is the total weight added and the
acceleration os gravity for example if 0.05 kg of weight is added f =0.05 × 9.81=0.49 .

Discussion:

By looking at the graph it can be seen that the graph is directly proportional as it passes through the origin and each
result increases in value steadily. This graph supports Hooke’s law as it shows that the amount of force added to a
spring is directly proportionate to the amount of deformation the spring undergoes. The results were precise as they
all increased fairly steadily and were very accurate as the results were close to the line of best fit.

A random error that could have affected the results of the experiment could have been the incorrect measurement
of the extension of the spring. This can be due to the Parallax error. Parallax error is the error that can occur
whenever there is some distance between the measuring scale and the indicator used to obtain a measurement. If
the observer’s eye is not squarely aligned with the pointer and scale, the reading may be too high or low. An
incorrect reading could have caused an error in the results. To rule out this random error an electronic ruler could
have been used to measure the extension of the spring.

Another random error could have been the uncontrolled variable of the amount of rust on each weight causing each
weight to be over the weighed amount thus affecting the results. To remedy this error, the weights could have been
cleaned of all rust or new weights could be used. To reduce the random errors in this practical multiple trial could
have been done to minimise the random errors.

A systematic error could have been the lag time. The spring requires time to reach equilibrium and taking a
measurement before the spring is stable would’ve resulted in a measurement that is generally too low. To reduce
this systematic error a short pause can be taken before taking the reading of the extension of the spring ensuring
that the spring has had enough time to reach equilibrium.

Another systematic error could have been in inaccuracy of the ruler since a wooden ruler which was old and poorly
maintained was used to measure the extension of the spring and as wood expands under certain conditions it could
have affected the results. To fix this an electronic ruler could be used.

After discussing the errors that may have affected the experiment it can still be said that the results of the
experiment were valid as there was high accuracy and precision as most variable were affectively controlled, and the
method tested the hypothesis.
Conclusion:

In conclusion the aim of the experiment was met as the experiment showed Hooke’s law accurately. The hypothesis
was supported as an increase in force upon the spring resulted in an increase in extension. This can be seen in the
figure 2 as the extension of the spring is directly proportional to relationship to the forces applied. This experiment
was however somewhat limited by the equipment provided. If more advanced equipment were to be provided then
that would result in more accurate and precise data to be obtained.

References:

 Hooke’s Law 2018, Khan Academy, viewed 17 February 2020,

<https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/one-dimensional-motion/introduction-to-physics-
tutorial/a/what-is-physics>.
 Hooke's law 2018, Wikipedia, viewed 17 February 2020, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooke%27s_law>.
 Hooke's law 2020, Britannica, viewed 17 February 2020, <https://www.britannica.com/science/Hookes-
law>.
 What is Hooke's law? 2019, Phys.org, viewed 17 February 2020, <https://phys.org/news/2015-02-law.html>.
 What is Hooke's law? 2019, Khan Academy, viewed 17 February 2020,
<https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/work-and-energy/hookes-law/a/what-is-hookes-law>.