stretching a spring required practical

• Force and extension


  Relationship between force applied to a spring and the extension (stretching) of the spring
• Investigating the force-extension relationship for a spring

  1. Set up clamp stand with meter rule

  2. Attach spring to clamp stand

  3. Measure unstretched length of spring

  4. Add weights to spring and measure extension

  5. Plot extension vs weight graph
• Graph of force vs extension

  • Linear relationship (straight line through origin)
  • Elastic deformation (extension returns to zero when force removed)
  • Inelastic deformation (permanent extension after exceeding limit of proportionality)
• Limit of proportionality


  Maximum force before spring exhibits inelastic deformation
• Spring constant


  Measure of the stiffness of a spring, calculated as force/extension in the linear region
• The force-extension relationship is a required protocol
• The graph can be used to determine the weight of an unknown object by measuring the extension