Investigating Springs

and
·
When forces are
applied to materials the ,
size

of material
shape change
the can .

· The method below describes typical procedure for

a

out
investigation into the
properties of a

carrying
an

material.

·
Lets start the
experiment
·
Aim of experiment
·
The aim
of this
experiment
is to
investigate the

relationship between
force and extension for spring
· Variables

Independent variable = Force F,

Extensions
·

Dependent variable =

· Control variables :

with constant I
Spring spring
· ,
·

Independent variable The variable

:

you change
:

unaffected by other variable

Dependent variable The variable

:

you
measure ;
dependent
on
other variables .

DV ,
Control
· variable : The variable which can
effect
must be controlled (kept constant) otherwise investigation will
be
effected .

List
Equipment

↑
Equipment Purpose
Clampstand ,
boss and To
apply
an
upward force
the
clamp on
spring
To measure the extension
Rules
-f
the
spring

Spring To measure the extension of

To
apply
downward force on

6xloog
masses

the
spring
To hold the additional
long
mass
hanger masses

To read the
Pointer accurately
extension from the ruler

Resolution of measuring equipment .

* Ruleu = Imm = Om
Equipment for investigating the extension of a spring

*
This is a

Mass hanger
Mass
hanges

Fixing the ruler to the clamp stand will reduce movement in the ruler and,
therefore, reduce errors in measurement ,Fig 1.0
 Experimental Set-Up to Measure the Extension of a spring

original
Length
original
X legth

To measure the extension of a spring, masses are hung from the spring and the
extension of the spring is measured with a ruler ,Fig 1.1

Set up the
apparatus shown in
Figlo
and
Figh
.
·
as

the marker to value the ruler with

Align
a on no
·

added to the and record this initial

spring
mass ,

length of spring .
 Add the onto the
loog Olkg mass
hanger springs
.
or

attached to the bottom the

pointer
with a ,

measured
position of the
spring
is
against the
ruler .

(in kg) position (in cm)

.
3 The mass
and are recorded

in a table .

Add another to the

long
4 mas
hanger
.

and
Record the
position from the rules
new mass
.
5

that the has extended further

spring
now

have been added

s .

Repeat this
process
until all masses

.
7 The masses are then removed and the entire
until it has been
process
is
repeated again
and
carried out a
total
of three times ,
an

calculated .
length
is

average
 Example results table

F Average length original

-

mg
=

I ↓

LI
Macs/ Force Length Length2 Length Average
Extension

length m
-

-
-
0 .

0
.
6

A cuitable table of results must contain

space for the
and entension
calculations of force
.
Analysis of the results

The force Fadded to the the of the

weight
is
spring
· ,
mas.

The calculated the

weight equation
·

using
is :

W =

mg
· Where

measured
weight
W =
, in newtons (N)

measured in
kilograms (kg)
mas
m =
,

gravitational field strength

measured in newtons
per
=

g
,

kilogram (N/kg)

·
Therefore multiply each
,
mass

by gravitational field
strength g 9 &N/kg,
to =
.

,
calculate the force ,
F

·
The extension
of the
spring
can be
found by
subtracting original position of
the the
spring from
each
of the subsequent positions .

Extension Final =

Length Original length.

-
 The final length is the length of the recorded
·

spring
the added .
from the ruler when masses are

·
The
original length is the
length of the
spring
when

there were no masses .

1
.
Plot a

graph of force (y-avis) against extension (n-amis).

2 .
Draw a line of best fit
then the
.
3
If a

graph region) straight

has a linear is a line) ,

force proportional to the extension this

is
region
in

Example force-extension graph

-

ForceIN

I FORCE IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE EXTENSION i.e.

SPRING OBEYS HOOKES LAW

Extension /m
 The graph is a straight line that goes through the origin which shows that the
extension of the spring is directly proportional to the force applied ( Hookes law )

Evaluating the
experiment
·

Systematic errors

Make sure
the measurements on the ruler are taken at

level to avoid
eye parallax error .

Systematic errous :

Faults in the
apparatus or
experimental method which consistently
affect every measurement for example , ,
a zero error . This affects
accuracy

Random errors

· The
precision of the
experiment is
improved with the use

of a

pointer at the bottom

of the spring .
· Wait a
few seconds for the mass to become
stationary
after it is added ,
before taking the reading for its

.
· Check that the
spring
has not
gone past
its limit
of
proportionality
otherwise it has been stretched too
, far
this relationship
and will
longer obeyno

·
Make sure
the measurements are taken from the same
point
on
the bottom of the squingeverytime .

·
Random errors :

Unpredictable changes experiment causing

in the one

measurement to differ slightly from the neat Affects .

precision
.

Safety considerations
goggles during experiment
Wear this the
spring snaps
·
in case .

experiment making feet

Standup
while out the
carrying
·
sure no

under the
are
directly masses

·
Place a mat or
soft material below the masses to
prevent any
damage
in case
they fall .
 to the desk that the
Use
Sclamp
to the
clampstand
so
a secure
·

clamp and masses

do not
fall over

place each
carefully
As well this the
hanger
·
as , mass on

and do not the too hard that it breaks

pull spring
or
pulls
the
apparatus over .

Remember, the extension measures how much the object has stretched by
and can be found by subtracting the original length from each of the
subsequent lengths.

A common mistake is to calculate the increase in length instead of the total

extension. If each of your extensions is roughly the same, then you might
have made this mistake!

The proportional relationship between force and extension is known as

Hooke's law. You do not need to remember the name of the law for your
exam, but you do need to remember the relationship.