Week 3 Lab - Hooke's Lab
Name: ___rowen__________
Objectives:
● Validate Hooke’s Law
● Use Hooke’s Law to determine unknown masses and an unknown g value.
● Analyze how different combinations of spring affect the stretching of a system.
Background:
Hooke's law states that extension of a spring is
proportional to applied force.
If a spring obeys Hooke's law, then a graph of
applied force against extension will be a straight
line, whose gradient (slope) is k:
The equation of the straight line is:
F=k x
where:
F = stretching force applied to the spring
k = spring constant
x = extension of the spring
Part 1: Validating Hooke’s Law
Open the following simulator and click the lab option:
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/masses-and-springs/latest/masses-and-springs_en.html
a) Place the 100g mass onto the spring. The spring will begin to oscillate up and down. Stop this
by clicking on the mass several times or increasing the ‘Damping’ value to ‘Lots’.
b) Click the ‘Displacement’ and ‘Movable Line’ options on the right. Adjust the movable red
line to the tip of the green arrow.
c) Use the ruler tool (the units are in mm) on the bottom right to measure the extension of the
spring with the 100g mass. Convert this mass to a weight (use g=9.8 m s−2 ) and add this data
to table 1. Remember to convert g to kg.
Mass added (g) Weight (N) Extension (mm)
100g .98N 18mm
150g 1.47N 26mm
200g 1.96N 34mm
250g 2.45N 41mm
275g 2.7N 46mm
300g 2.94N 50mm
Table 1
d) Using the slider at the top, change the mass and record 5 more results of weight and
extension. Add your results to table 1.
e) Plot a graph (either on paper or using Excel) for Force (y-axis) against extension (x-axis).
Draw a line of best fit through your points.
force vs extension
3.5
3
f(x) = 0.06 x − 0.13
2.5
2
force(N)
1.5
0.5
0
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
extension(mm)
f) Using your graph, determine the spring constant of your spring (in N mm−1) by finding the
gradient. K= .0617x - .129 Nmm^-1
g) What evidence from your graph shows that the spring obeys Hooke’s Law?
The line is linear and the spring extension is proportional to the applied force on the spring.
Part 2: Determining Unknown Masses
Using your value for the spring constant in part 1, determine the masses of the two unknown, red and
blue masses in the simulation. Show your working and measurements taken for this part. To get a
good average result, at least 3 measurements should be taken of each mass.
F=kx
F=stretch force
K=constant from earlier = .0617x - .129 Nmm^-1
X= extension
Blue mass extension (mm) Red mass extension (mm)
39mm 61mm
40mm 62mm
39mm 61mm
Blue force f= 39(.0617)-1.29=1.116N
Red force f= 61(.0617)-1.29=2.474N
9.81N= 1kg * 9.81
Kg= N/9.81
Blue kg = 1.116/9.81= .1138 kg
Red kg = 2.474/9.81= .25228 kg
red mass = ...................252.28 g
blue mass = ......113.8g
Part 3: Determining Unknown Value of Gravity
Change the ‘Gravity’ to ‘Planet X’.
The value of g is no longer 9.8 m s−2 but something unknown.
Using your spring constant from part 1, determine the unknown value of g for this planet. Show your
working and measurements taken for this part. To get a good average result, at least 3 measurements
should be taken of each mass.
F=kx
F= kg*g?
K=.0617x - .129 Nmm^-1
Lets says the mass is 300g or .3 kg
.3*g?= .0617(72mm)-.129 g?= 4.3134/.3
g?= 14.378
lets say the mass is 200g or .2kg
.3*g?= .0617(49mm)-.129 g?= 2.8943/.2
g?= 14.4715
lets say the mass is 100g or .1kg
.3*g?= .0617(26mm)-.129 g?= 1.4752/.1
g?= 14.752
if you average the three unknown gravities together you get 14.534
unknown g = ...........14.534m s−2
Part 4: Analysing Systems of Springs
Open the simulation below and press the systems open:
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/hookes-law/latest/hookes-law_en.html
a) Select the options ‘Displacement’, ‘Equilibrium Potion’ and ‘Values’. Make sure the option
of two springs in parallel is selected so that the springs look like the setup in the image below.
b) Keep the top spring constant k 1=200 N m−1 and the bottom spring constant k 2=200 N m −1 .
Apply 100N of force to the right. Measure the extension and determine the total spring
Force
constant of the two springs in parallel ( ). Record your results in table 2.
Extension
Two Springs in Parallel
k 1 ( N m−1 ¿ k 2 ( N m−1 ¿ F (N) Extension (m) Total k ( N m−1 ¿
100 N
200 200 .250 800
100 N
400 400 .125 1600
100 N
500 500 .100 2000
100 N
600 600 .083 2400
Table 2
c) Repeat step b) three more times by changing the values of k 1 and k 2 and adding the results to
table 2.
d) Describe the relationship between the individual spring constants k 1 and k 2, and the total
spring constant k for springs in parallel. Try and write this in the form of an equation.
Looks like the total constant is doubling the linear constant of the two springs combined. The equation
would be close to ftotel= (k1+k2)*2
e) Press the series spring button so that the springs change their combination to look like the
setup in the image below:
f) Keep the left spring constant k 1=400 N m−1 and the right spring constant k 2=400 N m−1.
Apply 100N of force to the right. Measure the extension and determine the total spring
Force
constant k of the two springs in series ( ). Record your results in table 3.
Extension
Two Springs in Series
k 1 ( N m−1 ¿ k 2 ( N m−1 ¿ F (N) Extension (m) Total k ( N m−1 ¿
400 400 .500 824
100 N
400 200 .750 733
100 N
600 400 .417 1239
100 N
600 600 .333 1500
100 N
Table 3
g) Repeat step f) three more times by changing the values of k 1 and k 2 and adding the results to
table 3.
h) Three students offer a model for finding the total spring constant k for two springs in series:
k 1 +k 2
● Student 1: k=
k 1k 2
2
● Student 2:
( k 1 +k 2 )
k=
k 1+ k 2
1 1 1
● Student 3: = +
k k1 k 2
Explain which student’s model is correct based on your results.
Student 3 is correct.
Student 1 equation gets close to the extension of the springs when you use their equation
Student 2 equation just goes in a circle.
Student 3 equation is the only one that comes up with a decent answer.
