PHYSICS I LAB REPORT

COURSE CODE: PHY102L

Summer 2019-2020

Experiment
No. 4
Experiment
Title To satisfy Hook’s law and calculate the spring constant.
Group No.

Section No.
NO. STUDENT NAME STUDENT ID

Submission date
Experiment 04-To calculating Hooks law and calculating the spring constant

Mechanics - hooks law data studio file

Introduction:
Hook’s law is named after the 17th century British physicist Robert Hook. For systems that
obey Hook’s law, the extension produced is directly proportional to the load. The purpose of
this activity is to use Hook’s Law to determine the spring constant of a spring.
Force applied  Extension produced
F Applied  x
F=−kx
Where x is the distance that the spring has been stretched or compressed away from the
equilibrium position, which is the position where the spring would naturally come to rest
(m), F is the restoring force exerted by the spring (N), and k is the force constant (or
spring constant). The constant has units of force per unit length (N/m). When this formula
holds, the behavior of the spring is linear (a graph of a linear relationship) .The negative sign
in the Hooks law formula shows that the restoring force always acts in the opposite
direction of the x displacement (for compression and extension).
The experiment will be performed for two arrangements, Horizontal and Vertical.
Result and Calculation:

Attach the linear fitted graph for the vertical setup

Table for the vertical setup:

Spring# Slope of the graph

Silver long
Black short 3.21 N/M
Big Black long

The actual value for the spring constant:

Silver long: 8 N/m or 5 N/m , Black short 3.4N/m or 6.8 N/m, Big Black long: 3.4N/m or
6.8 N/m
Calculate the % error in the value of the spring constant.
%error = ((actual value – measured value)/actual value) * 100
= ((3.4-3.21)/3.4) * 100 = 5.6%

Data table:

Run# Mass(g) Extension(cm) Force applied Spring constant

Fg=mg K=F/x
1 20 5.3 0.196 3.7018N/m
2 40 11.1 0.392 3.5351N/m
3 60 17.0 0.588 3.4623N/m
4 80 23.1 0.784 3.397N/m
5 100 28.5 0.98 3.442N/m
Questions:

1. In general, what pattern do you notice between the force due to gravity of the masses
and the extension of the spring?

F=-kx
F and x are directly proportional which mean that when extension of a spring increase the
gravity increases as well and vise versa.

2. Write an equation that represents the relationship between force and displacement using
standard linear equation y = mx + b by. Don't forget to include units on all numbers!

Y=mx+b Y=F(N)

F(N)=k(N/m)x(m)+c m=change in y/ change in x = K (N/m)

b= constant (F=0)
So in conclusion:
Force (N) = Spring Constant (k) (N/m) x Displacement (m)
F (N) = k (N/m) . d (m)

3. What is the physical meaning of the slope and the vertical intercept of the force extension
graph?

The slope is equal to the K(N/m) the spring constant that relates to the nature of the force of
the spring and its extension . The physical meaning of the graph is the spring constant K.
The y intercept represent the initial force when extension is zero.

The vertical intercept of the force means that F=0 so no extension is present.

Therefore extension also is zero.

4. What would be the displacement of a 100 g mass?

Mass= 0.1 kg
F (N)= m(kg) . g (m/s^2)
F (N)= 0.1 kg . 9.8 m/s^2 = 0.98 N
x (m)= F(N)/k(N/m)
x (m)= 0.98(N)/3.21(N/m)
X which is extension would be (30.2 cm) which is (0.302 m)

5. How far must a spring (spring constant = 35N/m) be pulled in order to exert a force of
63N?
F = mg
X = F/K
X = 63/35 = 1.8m

6. How far will a spring with rest length 82cm and spring constant 0.50N/m be if it is
stretched until it exerts 0.25N?

F = Kx
X =F/K = 0.25/0.5 = 0.5m =50cm
li = 82cm x = 50cm
lf =li+x = 82+50 = 132cm

7. A spring has a rest length of 1.30m. When a 20kg mass is hung on it, it stretches to
3.60m. What is its spring constant?

F = kx
K = F/x = (20)*(9.8)/(3.6-1.3) = 85.2 N/m

8. Draw on the below axis the expected graph for the different springs.

9. What would happen to the spring constant if the spring were cut in half? (Hint: What
force would be required to stretch the spring to a length equal to a length before it was cut?)

𝐹applied ∝ 𝑥 → Depending on the relationship between strength and distance, we need

twice the strength after cutting in half to reach the same length before cutting .
• Before cutting F=Kx
• After cutting to half (assume k’) 𝐹 = 𝐾′𝑥/2
So it reach the same length before cutting (same x) → 2𝐹 = 𝑘′ 𝑥
2𝐹/𝐹 = 𝐾′ 𝑥/Kx
2𝐾= 𝐾′
• The spring constant of the cutting spring (K’) equals twice the original spring constant (K).

Discussion and conclusion:

What is the significance of measuring the spring constants? Discuss % error for your
readings. Also give sources of error, if any. Give suggestions to reduce the error.
Everybody knows that when you apply a force to a spring or a rubber band, it stretches. A
scientist would ask, "How is the force that you apply related to the amount of stretch?" This
question was answered by Robert Hooke, a contemporary of Newton, and the answer has
come to be called Hooke's Law. This law states that the force is directly proportional to the
resulting extension/compression represented as F = -kx. The spring’s force is called a
restoring force because the force exerted by the spring is always in the opposite direction to
the displacement.
This is why there is a negative sign in the Hooke’s law equation. Pulling down on a spring
stretches the spring downward, which results in the spring exerting an upward force opposite
to the direction of the extension x. It’s a key to measure the stiffness of a spring where large
spring constant means stiffer and small spring constant means less stiff or requires less force
to get extended We preformed an experiment using Hooke’s law as a basis to finding the
spring constant of a black short spring. To do so, we hung masses of different magnitude on
a vertical setup and measured the resulting extension of each mass. This provided us with all
the necessary information to calculate the spring constant k.
F = kx
k = 16N/0.4m = 40N/m
After conducting the experiment, we found the spring constant of the spring to be 3.21N/m
while the actual value was reported to be 3.4N/m. The resulting percentage error is 5.6%.
There are many possible factors that are involved in the error. Human error in reading the
measurement may have contributed to the error.
Also random error and instrumental error from the accuracy of the instruments used.
Finally there may also be calculation errors in that might have contributed to the percentage
error. The investigation could have been more accurate and precise if the following
modifications were to be taken. The first point is to make sure that the eye is perpendicular
to the ruler when taking the reading when doing the extension of spring. This will avoid
parallax error. Secondly, taking more readings and then average could help reduce the error.
In conclusion, the graph of force versus extension is a straight line thus proving that the
extension of a spring(x) is directly proportional to the applied force(F) with the spring
constant(k) being the proportionality constant. This is exactly as stated
in Hooke’s law
F=-kx .