Experiment 1; HOOKE’S LAW

Abstract:
The experiment is carried out to examine the effect of force on a spring and thevalue of the
spring elasticity (k) by finding the elongation of spring, thus verifying Hooke’s law. Hooke’s law
is the first classical example of an explanation for elasticity in which is the property of an object
or material which cause it to be returned to its original shape after being distorted. The
experiment was to determine the spring constant of spring.one spring was tested in which five
different weights were attached to the spring. The initial and final length of springs which being
attached to the weight were recorded. Results showed that the elongation of the increased as the
mass of the weight attached to the springincreased. The weight acted as the force acting on the
springs.

Objective:
 To determine the spring constant of a spring by using hook law

Apparatus/ Equipment:
 Base
 Clamp different weight / slotted mas
 Spring (extension type)
 Ruler/Meter scale
 Right angle weight lorder

Theory:

Hooke's law of elasticity discovered by the English scientist Robert Hook in 1660, which states
that for relatively small deformation of an object, the displacement or size of the deformation is
directly proportional to the deformation force or load. Under these conditions the objects return
to its original shape and size upon the removal of the load. Elastic behavior of solids according to
Hooks law can be explained by the fact that small displacement of their constituent molecules,
atoms, or ions from normal positions is also proportional to the force that causes the
displacement. Measuring the stretching produced by different loads, added to the spring, tests
the elasticity of a spring. When a spring is stretched by an applied force, a restoring force is
produced. Due to the restoring force simple harmonic motion is caused in a straight line in which

1
the acceleration and the restoring force are directly proportional to the displacement of the
vibrating load from the equilibrium position. The relation between the force (F) and
displacement (x) is

F= -kx…………(1.1) , the negative sign indicate the force is opposite in direction

The equation of energy of the spring is shown below

dW= Fdx…………...(1.2) x1

And if we integrate the equation 1.1, the equation of the potential energy of the spring is shown
below

W= ∆PE= 1/2 (x 1 ¿ ¿2−x 0 2) ¿

Figure 1; Experimental set upg

2
Procedure;

1. In the beginning the presence of all the materials needed for the experiment was checked.
2. Then we measured the length (X0) of spring A without the scale pan mass.
3. M1 was hanged on the first spring and recorded the elongation.
4. The third step was repeated for different masses(m1, m2, m3, m4, m5)
5. Then the applied force for different mass and spring was calculated
6. Finally, k was calculated by using Fi/∆Li and kave for each spring

Data (observation):

Raw data
X₀=0.08 m
Trials Mass(Kg) Length Elongation Force K=F/∆𝑥
of the (m) (m*g) (N/m)
Spring ∆𝑥=Xf -Xi
(m)
1 0.12 0.1 0.02
2 0.17 0.11 0.03
3 0.22 0.12 0.04
4 0.27 0.13 0.05
5 0.32 0.14 0.06

Data analysis
Calculation /processing data

3
 F= -k∆𝑥 ……………………..The negative sign indicates that the F and ∆𝑥 in opposite
direction only.
k=F/∆𝑥
For trial 1:
Given: m=0.12kg
g=9.81m/s²
∆X=x – x₀
= (0.1– 0.08) m = 0.02m
F =m×g, = 0.12kg ×9.81 m/s²
= 1.772N
K=F/∆𝑥,
=1.772N/0.02m =58.86N/m.
The same calculation was applied for the rest trials and then processed data as follow.
Proceeded Data
Trials Mass(Kg) Length of the Elongation Force K=F/∆𝑥
Spring (m) (m) (m*g) (N/m)
∆𝑥=Xf -Xi
1 0.12 0.1 0.02 1.1772 58.86
2 0.17 0.11 0.03 1.6677 55.59
3 0.22 0.12 0.04 2.1582 53.955
4 0.27 0.13 0.05 2.6487 52.974
5 0.32 0.14 0.06 3.1392 52.32

Kave =Ktot/5 ,
=273.699/5 , = 54.7398N

4
Result and Discussion

According to the experiment, we observed that when the reading of length of the spring X(m)
increases, the elongation of the spring ∆X (m) also increases. This is due to the weight which
acts as the manipulated variable of experiment. The weight will represent as F, acted on the
spring. The weight of the can be calculated by using formula

W=mg
Based on our results above, we observed that when the mass increase, the length of the spring
also increases. We assumed that mass of an object is directly proportional to the elongation of
spring. In other words, a mass act as a manipulated variable and the length of the spring is the
responding variable. Thus, the length of the spring is affected when the mass is increased or
decreased. From the table and graph in the above, we can see that, the original length of the
spring (X0) with no mass is added, the length of the spring is only 0.08m. Then, the scale Pan
with the mass of 0.12kg is loaded on to the spring to get the value of x1, which is 0.1m. Hence

5
we observed that the length of the spring increased by 0.02m. Next, 0.17 kg mass is added in to
the scale pan. The reading on the ruler reached 0.11m. We record that the length of the spring
increased by 0.03m. Likewise, the previous steps are repeated by using masses of 0.22 kg,
0.27kg and 0.32kg. Thus, from our record data we can conclude that as the force acted on the
spring increased, the elongation of the spring also increased.

Conclusion
From this experiment, we can conclude that the extension of a spring changes as the force
applied on the spring changes. That means as the force increases the extension of the spring also
increases. Here, some new phrases were introduced these are extension, Hooke's law, and spring
constant. Extension is the stretch of the spring—how far it stretches. Hooke’s law is a principle
of physics. It states that the force needed to extend (or compress) a spring is proportional to the
distance stretched—there is a linear correlation. From the in the above graph (F vs ∆X ), the
slope of the graph indicate the spring constant ( K ) and it increase linearly up to its elastic limit.
But, after its elastic limit the spring become permanently deformed and the relationship between
the applied force and the extension of the spring is not direct relation. This shows Hooke's law of
elastic material works up to its elastic limit.

Source of error:

The instruments used in this experiment worked well, that means there no well defined
instrumental error. The result obtained in the experiment may differ from the actual results. This
is because there may be personal errors were made during taking the reading or the experiment
worked.

Parallax error: May occur when reading the ruler which our eye level is not perfectly
perpendicular to the ruler. We might not be observed the exact values of extensions. There might
be environmental factor on the spring, that means when the environment condition become hotter
the elasticity of the spring is affected (high probability to be extended), on the other hand, when

6
environment condition become cooler, the elasticity of the spring affected ( low probability to be
extend).

There also may be other errors that were not notified during the experiment and listed her.