YOUNGS MODULUS

Zahra Pervez


Original length
L

extension
e

Force
F


Force
F


Cross sectional
area A

S
t
r
e
s
s



(
N
m
-
2
)

Strain
E
P
Y
BACKGROUND PHYSICS

AIM
To determine the youngs modulus of elasticity of the given material.
THEORY
Young modulus
Young modulus is named after Thomas young (1773-1839) who developed the Young modulus a
constant in the mathematical equation used to determine the stiffness of a material.
The Young Modulus of wire, E is a measure of the stiffness of a material, it is widely used by
engineers when considering the properties of different materials in construction as a
Youngs Modulus is defined by the equation: E=

.
Stress is defined as=

,where F is the force applied and A is the cross sectional

, where E is the extension of the wire and L is the

, where F is the
applied force, E is the extension, A is the cross-sectional area and L is the
original length.

Stress strain graphs
Stress () can be plotted against strain (). The toughness of a material is equal to the are
under the stress strain graph, between the y-axis and the fracture point. The image below shows a
stress strain graph for a typical ductile material.








Point E is the elastic limit- at this point the material
starts to behave plastically. From point E onwards
the material would no longer return to its original
shape once the stress is removed.
Point P is the limit of proportionality- after this the
graph is no longer a straight line. The material
stops obeying Hookes law. However the material
would return to its original shape once the load is
removed.
Point Y is the yield point- at this point the material
starts to stretch without any extra load. The yield
point is the stress at which a plastic deformation
takes place.
Before point P, the graph is a straight line. This
shows that the material is obeying Hookes law.
APPARATUS
Piece of wire (wire must be undamaged)
Four blocks of wood( two large blocks are needed to clamp the wire to one end of the bench, two
smaller blocks are needed to clamp to the wire at the other end where it is loaded.)
Two g clamps (a large one is required to clamp the wire to the bench and a smaller one to clamp
to the end of the wire from which the masses are to be hung.)
Meter rule.
mass hanger and masses
goggles


DIAGRAM OF APPARATUS





METHOD
1. Measure the diameter d of the piece of wire. Repeat this several times along the length of
the wire and then find the average of the results
2. Clamp one end of the wire between two wooden blocks and to the bench with a G clamp. It is
important that this is clamped tightly and will not slip.
3. Attach the pulley to the end of the bench or table and hang the end of the wire over it so that
it hangs just below the pulley.
4. Place a small piece of tape on the wire .This will act as the marker
5. Measure the unstrechced length of the section of wire from the end of the wire clamped to
the bench to the tape marker from
6. Fix a metre rule to the table directly below the wire so that you can measure its extension as
loads are added.
7. Add a mass of 100g to the end of the wire. Measure the extension of the section of wire
8. Continue to increase the load on the wire by increasing the mass in 100 g steps.



SAFETY




The wire should be firmly clamped between the blocks and to the bench using the G-
clamp.
The floor may need protection from falling masses a safe landing should be provided in
case the load causes the sample to break, hence feet should be kept clear as well.
Eyes must be protected at all times with safety glasses for when the wire snaps.
Bridges should be set up over the sample to trap the wire in case it snaps


PRECAUTIONS
The load should be added to the hanger slowly and carefully. This is to avoid applying pressure to
the wire which would make the masses move back and forth which would result in the extra
extension in the wire which would comprise the results.
Records should only be taken once the sticker stops moving, as the wire takes time to extend.
















0.00E+00
5.00E+03
1.00E+04
1.50E+04
2.00E+04
2.50E+04
3.00E+04
3.50E+04
0.00E+00 5.00E+01 1.00E+02 1.50E+02 2.00E+02
S
t
r
e
s
s

Strain
Young's modulus of copper

PROCEDURE

EXPERIMENT ONE: STUDYING THE STRESS/STRAIN BEHAVIOUR OF COPPER
A micrometer was used to
measure the diameter of
the copper wire several
times, the mean value was
taken and the cross-
sectional area of the wire
was calculated. One end of
the sample was clamped
between two wooden
blocks and to the bench
with a G clamp. It is
important that this it was
clamped tightly to ensure
it wouldnt slip when the
load was added. The
pulley was attached to the
end of the bench the end of the wire was hung over it so that it hung just below the pulley. A small
piece of tape was placed on n the wire this acted as the marker. The unstrechced length of the
section of wire from the end of the wire clamped to the bench to the tape marker was measured and
a metre rule was stuck down to the table directly below the wire so that the extension could be
measured as the load was added. A 100g load was added to the wire and was repeated until the wire
snapped. .

Figure 1: Of C ( Ax)


Mass (kg) Force (n) extension (m)
1.00E-01 0.98 0
2.00E-01 1.96 0
3.00E-01 2.94 0
4.00E-01 3.92 0
5.00E-01 4.90 1
6.00E-01 5.88 2
7.00E-01 6.86 3
8.00E-01 7.84 4
9.00E-01 8.82 5
1.00E+00 9.80 13
1.10E+00 10.78 28
1.20E+00 11.76 67
1.30E+00 12.74 1.16
1.40E+00 13.72 1.45
IMPROVED EXPERIMENT

PROCEDURE
A micrometer was used to measure the diameter of the copper wire several times, the mean value
was taken and the cross-sectional area of the wire was calculated. One end of the sample was
clamped between two wooden blocks and to the bench with a G clamp. It is important that this it
was clamped tightly to ensure it wouldnt slip when the load was added. The pulley was attached to
the end of the bench the end of the wire was hung over it so that it hung just below the pulley. A
small piece of tape was placed on n the wire this acted as the marker. The unstrechced length of the
section of wire from the end of the wire clamped to the bench to the tape marker was measured. A
book was placed under the wire and a vernier scale was fixated on to it. The book was held down by
heavy masses to ensure it wouldnt move so it wouldnt compromise the results of the experiment. A
100g load was added to the wire, this was repeated until the load reached 700g as this was the
identified limit of proportionality from the first experiment. This experiment was repeated five times
this ensured that the results obtained were reliable and valid. Also repeating the experiment
numerous times allowed me to assess the reliability because there were more data points to
compare.

TABLE OF RESULTS
I found out from my first experiment that the wire only obeys Hookes law up to 700g, hence I deided
to only add masses up to 700g

Mass (g) 3.49 Force (n) extension (mm) 0.1 Average
100.00 0.98 1.40 2.20 2.08 2.30 2.40 2.08
200. 00 1.96
2.30
2.50 2.60 2.90 2.90 2.60
300. 00 2.94
3.70
3.40 3.62 3.50 3.6 3.62
400. 00 3.92 5.60 4.20 4.72 4.60 4.70 4.72
500. 00 4.90 6.00 5.50 5.60 5.50 5.60 5.60
600. 00 5.88 8.20 6.40 6.82 6.60 6.70 6.82
700. 00 6.86 9.70 7.20 7.62 7.10 7.20 7.62

IMPROVEMENTS MADE
To improve the precision of the measurement of extension I used a verner scale which helped to
reduce the percentage of uncertainty.


UNCERTANTIES

The calibration of measuring instruments was considered prior to their use. Hence when using the
equipment needed to measure the Youngs modulus I ensured that they were zeroed and then
added the zeroed value from my reading to account for this error. Below is a table of equipment
used, what they were used for, why I decided to use that particular instrument and the
uncertanities.
Instrument Application Justification/use Uncertainty
Micrometer To measure diameter,
used to calculate cross
sectional area
Lower uncertainty than
other measuring
equipment.
0.01mm
Mass To provide a force to
extended wire.
To provide a force that
could extend the
length of the wire.
3.49g
Veriner scale To measure the length
of extension
Less uncertainty than a
meter ruler
0.01mm
Meter ruler Measure the original
length of wire
To measure the orignal
length of the wire.
1.00mm

To corrolate the uncertanities of my measure values , I calculated the percentage error .
This was done by the use of this specific formulae :











EXTENSION
To determine the Percentage uncertainity in extension, I calculate the average of the repeated
extension results which were as follow:
100g :

200g

Calculation Percentage
error
Length of wire 0.33
Diameter of wire
3.33
Area 6.67
Strain
17.33
Extension 17.33
Force 3.88
Stress 10.01

300g:

400g:

500g:

600g:

700g:

I then calculated the spread of data for each extension, which I then used to calculate the range.
Using the formulae I calculated the pecetnage uncetanity . For instance for the extension at 100g:

. I then calculated the average percentage uncertainty which I have used for the
ercentage uncertainty in extension. The table below is a summaristaion of how I obtained the
pecrenage uncertainty.




Mass Average Extension Spread Range % Uncertainty
100g 2.08 1.00 0.50 24.04
200g 2.60 0.60 0.30 11.54
300g 3.62 0.50 0.25 6.91
400g 4.72 1.40 0.70 14.83
500g 5.60 0.60 0.30 5.36
600g 6.82 2.00 1.00 14.66
700g 7.62 2.80 1.40 18.37


Average % Uncertainty 13.67
LENGTH
I used the formulae to calculate the percentange error in the length of the wire :

DIAMETER OF WIRE
I took four measurements of the wire and then calculated the average. I then used the formulae to
calculate the percentange error in the diameter of the wire :

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/physics/stress-and-strain/revise-it/definitions-of-stress-strain-and-
youngs-modulus
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-
level_Physics_(Advancing_Physics)/Stress,_Strain_%26_Young's_Modulus
http://www.ece.rochester.edu/courses/ECE111/error_uncertainty.pdf
www.animatedscience.o.ukblogwp...Yirera.do