5.

3 The limit of
proportionality and
the spring constant
Prepared by: Teacher Wafeiah Al-Shabani
Hooke’s Law

The mathematical pattern of the stretching spring was described

by the British scientist Robert Hooke.

He released that when the load is doubled the extension is

doubled. When the load is three times the extension will be three
times and so on.
Load- Extension graphs

• At first the graph is a straight line

going up from the origin (the
extension is directly proportional to
the load)
• At certain point the graph curves and
the line becomes less steeply, this
point is called the limit of
proportionality.
• If the spring is stretched beyond the
limit of proportionality, it will be
permanently damaged.
Hooke’s Law
• The extension of a spring is proportional to the load applied to it,
provided that the limit of proportionality is not exceeded.

• as an equation:
• F = kx
F: is the force (load) stretching the spring
K: is the spring constant
x: is the extension of the sopring
Worked Example 5.1:
• A spring has a spring constant k= 20 N/m, what load is needed to
produce an extension of 2.5 cm?