Don't understand phrasing of Question

[bbb0777]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask

A helical spring is rotated about one of its ends around a vertical axis. Investigate the expansion of the spring with and without an additional mass attached to its free end.

Does that make sense to you?

Not my question - a non-native-speaker friend asked me to explain the meaning of a few physics questions. I don't really understand the italicized part of this one though...

 

[ideasrule]

Basically, you lay the helical spring flat on the ground and spin it about one of its ends.

 

[bbb0777]

So - a cylindrical spring is sitting upright on the ground. You grab the top most edge, then start moving your arm in a circular motion. Is that it? Or, is the cylindrical spring sitting in the same manner, and you just grab the top most coil then start rotating the spring?

 

[ideasrule]

Like this:

http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/m/mo/moment_of_inertia_rod_end.png

where the rod is the spring

 

[bbb0777]

Nor do I understand that png. Perhaps I'm just daft about this.