Hooke's Law: Explaining Why Weight Changes Cause Different Spring Movement

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter ConquestAce
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Hooke's law Law
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the application of Hooke's Law in relation to spring movement under varying weights. The experiment demonstrated that a spring with a 1000 g weight compresses by 9.8 cm, while a 500 g weight results in only a 3.7 cm compression. The inconsistency in the spring's behavior suggests that the spring's stiffness constant (k) varies with load, indicating that the spring does not adhere strictly to Hooke's Law at higher weights. The proposed follow-up experiment involves systematically applying weights from 100 g to 900 g to observe the relationship between weight and spring extension, potentially revealing a nonlinear response at higher loads.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Hooke's Law and its mathematical formulation (F = kx)
  • Basic knowledge of spring constants and their significance in material science
  • Familiarity with experimental design and data collection methods
  • Ability to analyze and interpret graphs and linear versus nonlinear relationships
NEXT STEPS
  • Conduct a detailed experiment measuring spring extension with incremental weights from 100 g to 900 g
  • Learn about the concept of material yield strength and its impact on spring behavior
  • Explore the mathematical modeling of nonlinear elasticity in springs
  • Investigate the effects of different materials on spring constants and behavior under load
USEFUL FOR

Physics students, materials scientists, and engineers interested in mechanical properties of springs and the practical applications of Hooke's Law.

ConquestAce
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
How come a spring with applied weight of 1000 g goes down 9.8 cm but the same spring with applied weight of 500g goes only 3.7 cm down?

This is from my own lab that I preformed, and I need help in explaining why this occurs. I searched online but didn't get any clear answers, my only assumption at the moment is that k constant is the reason why this occurs, but I am not too sure.

The K values for the same spring is different when I calculate it, and I am confused on why that happens.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Obviously the spring doesn't follow Hooke's Law completely. More than likely it is following Hooke's Law for small loads but it starts to yield at higher loads.
 
An interesting experimental followup would be to take the same spring and put 100g, 200g, 200g, ... 900g on it, measure the amount of extension for each, and plot a graph. Does it start out as more or less a straight line, and then start to curve with larger weights, or does it curve all the way?
 

Similar threads

Undergrad Spring balance analysis from a system point of view
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
2K
Undergrad Is Hooke's law really not working, or is it me being dummy?
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
2K
Undergrad How Does Air Resistance Relate to Hooke's Law?
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
Undergrad Questions about a spring and its principle
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
3K
Undergrad Two Springs & Hooke's Law: Effect on Elastic Electrical Lead
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
High School Why is there a negative in Hooke's Law (F = -kx)
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
11K
Undergrad Does hooks law appy to leaf springs?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
7K
High School Why is Young's modulus constant below the limit of proportionality?
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
5K
High School How's it possible to push on systems with 2 parts? (Newton's third law)
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
1K
High School Understanding Hooke's Law: Confusion with F=ks and F=-ks Explained
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K