Question

Physics problem

Assume that you did the experiment described below, and obtained the given results.

P1- You had a spring with a rest length of 27.5 cm. You let the spring hang from a stand, so that one of its ends was attached to the stand, while the other end was free. You then let loads of different masses hang from the free end of the spring. The loads’ masses were 500 g, 1000 g, 1500 g, 2000 g, and 2500 g. These loads, when hanging, caused the spring’s length to change (from 27.5 cm) to 32.5 cm, 42.2 cm, 51.5 cm, 61 cm, and 70.5 cm respectively. Finally, you converted each mass to kilograms, then multiplied by 9.8 to find the corresponding weight in Newtons.

1. Process the data from P1 as follows.

a. Complete the multiplication of each mass (in kilograms) by 9.8, to obtain the corresponding weight in newtons.

b. For each load, find the spring’s elongation, by subtracting the rest length from the new length, due to the spring’s stretching. That is, 32.5 cm - 27.5 cm for the 500-g load, 42.2 cm - 27.5 cm for the 1000-g load, and so on. Then convert each elongation from centimeters (cm) to meters (m).

c. Plot the load’s weight (in newtons) versus the spring’s elongation (in meters). The elongations should be on the x-axis, and the weights on the y-axis. You have 5 points to plot.

d. Draw the line of best fit, and determine its slope. This slope, which is expressed in newtons per meter (N/m), is called the Spring Constant, and is denoted by the letter K. The determination of the Spring Constant is the whole point of this lab.

Answer 1