Experiment 205

Hookes Law
PHY11L / B3 / Group 2
Janolino, Bryan Austin H.

Abstract

The experiment made use the
Hookes law apparatus in order to study the
elastic properties of the spring. And to
determine the total work done on the spring
when it is being stretch and also to
determine the force constant of the spring.

I. Introduction

Hooke's law is only a first order
linear approximation to the real response of
springs and other elastic bodies to applied
forces. It must eventually fail once the
forces exceed some limit, since no material
can be compressed beyond a certain
minimum size, or stretched beyond a
maximum size, without some permanent
deformation or change of state. In fact,
many materials will noticeably deviate from
Hooke's law well before those elastic limits
are reached.

On the other hand, Hooke's law is an
accurate approximation for most solid
bodies, as long as the forces and
deformations are small enough. For this
reason, Hooke's law is extensively used in
all branches of science and engineering, and
is the foundation of many disciplines such as
seismology, molecular mechanics and
acoustics. It is also the fundamental
principle behind the spring scale, the
manometer, and the balance wheel of the
mechanical clock.

II. Theory

Hooke's law is a principle of physics
that states that the force F needed to extend
or compress a spring by some distance X is
proportional to that distance. That is: F =k
X, where k is a constant factor characteristic
of the spring, its stiffness.

The deformation of an elastic
material obeys Hookes law which states
that Within the elastic limit of a body, the
deforming force is directly proportional to
the elongation of the body.

F =kx
Where:
F deforming force (N; dynes)
x displacement (m; cm)
k force constant (N/m; dynes/cm)

Work is done when a spring is stretched.
The work done by a force when the
elongation foes from x
o
to x
f
is given by the
equation

W = kx
2

The degree of elasticity of a material is
called Modulus of Elasticity. For solid
materials, the degree of elasticity is called
the Youngs Modulus of Elasticity. It is the
ratio of longitudinal stress to the resultant
longitudinal strain.

Y=S/

Where stress is the ratio an applied force per
unit area,
S =F/A

And strain is the relative change in the
bodys length, shape or size.

=e / L
o
Thus,
Y =FL
o
/ Ae



III. Methodology
A. Setup










B. Materials

1 set Hookes Law Apparatus
1 pc 4 N/m Spring
1 pc 8 N/m Spring
1 pc Mass Hanger
1 set Weights

C. Procedure

A. Setting up the Equipment

First, the group hanged the spring from the
notch on the support arm. Then connected
the Stretch indicator to the bottom of the
spring. Then the group adjusted the clamp
on the support rod until the indicator reading
is aligned at exactly zero. After aligning the
group connected the mass hanger to the
bottom of the stretch indicator.

B. Determining the Force Constant of the
Spring

As of Part 2 of the experiment, the group
placed the mass on the hanger and recorded
the change in displacement of the spring and
the weight of the hanging mass. Then the
group computed for the constant of the
spring using the equation F =kx . The
group repeated steps 1 -3 for another 3 trials
and add 10 grams of mass in each trial. After
doing the 3 more trials the group computed
for the average value of the force constant,
they plotted a graph in which it included
Plot a force vs. displacement graph, after
graphing the group determined the slop of
the line. The slope is then calculated after
that the group calculated the percentage
difference of the average value of the force
constant and the slope of the line. They
repeated the said procedures using another
spring.

C. Determining the Work Done on the
Spring

The group then filled out table 2 using the
data gathered in Part B, then they computed
for the total work done in stretching the
spring using the equation:

W = k (x
2
f
x
2
o
)

Then after determining the work done in
stretching the spring, they computed for the
area under the graph of force vs.
displacement. Then they compared the total
work done and the area under the graph of
force vs. displacement.

IV. References

General Physics 2 Laboratory
Manual
Principles of Physics 9
th
Edition by
Halliday, Resnick and Walker
http://www.wikipedia.org