PHYSICS SS1 THIRD TERM

FIRST WEEK

ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLID

-Hooke’s Law

-Young Modulus

-Work done in springs and elastic string

ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLID

In solid, the molecules are very closely packed together and are held in relatively fixed position
by strong intermolecular forces. As a result of this, it is difficult for an external force that is
applied on the solid to displace the molecules of the solid due to the resistance of the
intermolecular forces between the molecules.

ELASTICITY

Elasticity is the ability of a substance to regain its original shape and size after being deformed
by an external force or it is the ability of a substance to regains its original shape and size after
the force that caused the deformation is removed.

Elasticity is the ability of a material to regain its original shape or size after deformation or after
removal of stress/force or after it has been compressed. Deformation occurs when a wire is
stretched or compressed. Deformation is elastic if the wire returns to its original position, while it
is plastic if it does not return to its original position.

ELASTIC MATERIALS:

Elastic materials are those materials that regain their original shape and size after the force that
caused the deformation is removed.

DISTORTION OF MATERIALS

Materials can be distorted by a force by stretching the materials or compressing the materials.
The amount by which a material is stretched or compressed depends on the amount of force that
is applied on the material. If large force or more force is applied, the material will stretch out /
expands more or will compress / shorten more. If the force is small, the material will expand
little or compress / shorten small or will not expand or compress.
 HOOKE’SLAW

Hooke’s law states that provided the elastic limit of an elastic material is not exceeded, the
extension, e, of a material is directly proportional to the load or applied force, F.

The extension or compression of a spring is directly proportional to the applied force

Diagram

FORMULA OF HOOKE’S LAW

The statement of Hooke’s law can be translated into formula that is used for calculation thus:
Mathematically:
Force F is directly proportional to extension e
Force F ∞ extension, e
Force F = K X extension, e

F = Ke

K = F/e
Recall that force F = mass X acceleration. F = ma. ( for a mass moving along the horizontal
surface)
F = mass X acceleration due to gravity. F = mg ( when the object is lifted up from the ground.
A changes to g)
K is constant of proportionality called elastic constant or force constant or stiffness of the
material.

UNIT OF ELASTIC CONSTANT

To find the unit of K, we have to make K the subject of the formula thus:
Force constant K = Force F ( measured in newton ) / extension e ( measured in meter )
K = Newton / meter or N / m or Nm-1

Therefore, the unit of force constant is Newton per meter or Nm-1.

 DEFINITION OF ELASTIC CONSTANT, K

Elastic constant or Stiffness of a material is the force that is required to produce an extension of
one meter.

Or You can define elastic constant of a material as the force per meter.

Elastic constant of a material is a measure of how stiff or tuff the material is. It can also help to
suggest the amount of force that is required to stretch or compress a material.

EXAMPLE 1:
A force of 0.8 N stretches an elastic spring by 2cm, find the elastic constant of the spring.

SOLUTION
Force F = 0.8N

extension e = 2cm = 2/ 100 = 0.02m.

K=?

K = f/e

k = 0.8/0.02

K = 40Nm-1

Example 2:

A force of 2N stretches an elastic material by 30mm.what additional force will stretch the
material 35mm? Assume the elastic limit is not exceeded.

SOLUTION:
Force F = 2N

extension e = 30mm = 30/ 1000 = 0.03m.

K=?

K = f/e

k = 2/0.03

K = 66.67Nm-1
Let the force stretching the material 35mm be F

extension e = 35mm = 35/ 1000 = 0.035m.

F = 66.67 X 0.035

F = 2.33N

Additional force = 2.33 N – 2.00 N

= 0.33N

STRESS OR TENSILE STRESS

Stress is the ratio of force that act on a material to the area of the material. It is the force per unit
area of a material.

FORMULA OF STRESS

From the definition of stress,

Stress = Force F / area A . Stress = F / A

UNIT OF STRESS

The unit is derived by involving the unit of each quantities that are present in the formula thus:
Stress = Force F ( measured in Newton )/ area A ( measured in meter )
Unit of stress = Newton / meter² or Newton per meter² = N/m² = Nm^-2

STRAIN OR TENSILE STRAIN

Strain is the ratio of the extension of a material when a force act on it to the original length of the
material. Strain has no unit because the meter which is the unit of extension cancels the meter
which unit of length. I.e meter cancels meter.

FORMULA OF STRAIN

From the definition,

Strain = extension e / original length l
Strain = e /L
Tensile Strain has no unit

YOUNG MODULUS

Hooke’s law can also be stated that the stress on a material is directly proportional to the strain
on the material.
Mathematically:
Stress is directly proportional to strain
Stress = K X strain
Make k the subject of the formula: K = stress / strain.

K is constant of proportionality. It is called Young Modulus.

Young modulus Y = stress / strain
Substitute for stress and strain:

Young modulus Y =( F/A ) / ( e / L )

Young modulus Y = F/A ÷ e/L.

The S.I unit of Young Modulus of elasticity is Nm-2

Elastic Limit

Elastic limit is the limit of force beyond which the stretched wire does not return to its original
length when the stretching force is removed.

Yield Point

Yield Point is the point beyond the elastic limit in which the elastic material has yielded all its
elasticity permanently and has become plastic.

WORK DONE IN SPRING AND ELASTIC MATERIAL

Work is done on an elastic material of original length L when a force (F) is applied on the
material to extend it by e (cm).
When the force is applied, the force increases from zero to maximum value F.

Then the average force is Initial force + final force/2 = (0 + F)/2 = F/2 = ½F

Going by the formula for calculating work done, which is

Work done = force X distance.
For the elastic material,
force = Average Force F = ( 0 + F ) / 2 = F / 2 = ½F, distance = extension, e.

Therefore,
Work done = F/2 X e = ½Fe
Recall from Hooke’s law that, F = Ke. You will have to substitute for force F in the above
formula thus:
Work done = ½Fe = ½ X K X e X e . Work done = ½ X K X e² = ½Ke²
Take note that the formula of work done can be modified base on the data that is given in a
question.
From F = Ke, You can make e the subject of the formula and substitute in the formula of work
done. Then, e = F/K.
Therefore, work done = ½Fe = ½ X F X F/K

work done = ½F²/K.

Example:

A spring is stretched 40mm by a force of 15N. what is the work done by the force?

Solution

F = 15N

e = 40mm = 40/1000 = 0.04m

W = 1/2Fe = ½ X 15 X 0.04

= 0.3J