Does a Spring Stretch More When Attached to an Immovable Wall or When Detached?

[hatingphysics]

Two people pull on a horizontal spring that is attached to an immovable wall. Then, they detach it from the wall and pull on opposite ends of the horizontal spring. They pull just as hard in each case. In which situation, if either, does the spring stretch more?

I think that the spring would stretch more when it is attached to the immovable wall because it is immovable and the force being put on the spring is more than the 1 people. I may be wrong though!

 

[PhanthomJay]

Two people pull on a horizontal spring that is attached to an immovable wall. Then, they detach it from the wall and pull on opposite ends of the horizontal spring. They pull just as hard in each case. In which situation, if either, does the spring stretch more?

I think that the spring would stretch more when it is attached to the immovable wall because it is immovable and the force being put on the spring is more than the 1 people. I may be wrong though!

But you may be right. Okay, in the first case, you do have 2 people pulling, each with a force F. That's a 2F total force on the spring. What about in case 2? They each pull with a force F. You must explain why you think there would be less stretch in this case. What is the total force applied to the spring in this 2nd case?