investigating springs

how can you investigate the link between force and extension?

measure the extension of a spring as you add different masses to it

how do you check if your masses are a good size?

do a quick pilot experiment and look for a steady increase in extension

what happens if a mass causes a much bigger increase in extension than the previous one?

you have exceeded the limit of proportionality

how do you measure the natural length of a spring?

use a ruler clamped to a stand and measure when no load is applied

what do you do after adding a mass to a spring?

allow the spring to come to rest, then measure its new length

what kind of graph should you plot to analyze your results?

a force-extension graph

what does a straight-line graph mean in this experiment?

force and extension are directly proportional

what does it mean if the line of best fit begins to curve?

the spring has exceeded its limit of proportionality

what is the equation for elastic potential energy in a spring?

e = ½ ke²

what does the elastic potential energy equation tell us?

the energy stored in the spring is equal to the work done to stretch it