stretching a spring

• To investigate the relationship between force and extension for a spring, follow these steps:
• Equipment needed: clamp stand, two bosses, two clamps, meter rule, spring, wooden splint attached to the bottom of the spoon
• Ensure the meter rule is vertical for accurate readings
• Read the unstretched length of the spring (length with no force attached)
• Add 1 Newton weight to the spring and read the new position of the pointer on the meter rule
• Continue adding one Newton weight to the spring and reading the position of the pointer
• Calculate the extension produced by subtracting the length of the unstretched spring from each reading
• Plot the extension against the weight to create a graph
• The graph should be a straight line going through the origin, indicating a linear relationship between force and extension
• If the graph is nonlinear, it indicates a nonlinear relationship between force and extension
• If the spring is elastic, the extension returns to zero when the weight is removed
• If the spring is over-stretched, it shows inelastic deformation on the graph
• The force required to extend a spring can be calculated using the equation: force = spring constant x extension
• The spring constant is found by dividing the force by the extension
• The spring constant remains the same for any part of the graph as long as the limit of proportionality is not exceeded