Hooke’s Law Lab

Hooke’s Law Virtual Lab | OnlyGyaani
🌀 ONLYGYAANI VIRTUAL PHYSICS LAB

Hooke’s Law — Spring & Elasticity Lab

Add different masses to a spring and observe how the applied force changes its extension. Investigate the relationship between force, spring constant and extension using Hooke’s Law.

⚖️ Mass 0–500 g
🌀 Spring Constant 5–50 N/m
⬇️ Extension Calculated live
📐 Hooke’s Law F = kx
🌀 Interactive Spring Experiment
Spring Extension Experiment Original spring length 100 g HANGING MASS Weight = 0.98 N RULER 0 2 4 6 8 10 cm Hooke’s Law region
🎛 Experiment Controls
⚖️ Hanging Mass 100 g
0 g 500 g
🌀 Spring Constant 20 N/m
Soft 5 N/m Stiff 50 N/m
Mass 100 g
Weight / Force 0.98 N
Spring Constant 20 N/m
Extension 4.90 cm
Original Length 20.00 cm
Final Length 24.90 cm
Hooke’s Law

F = kx

Therefore:
x = F ÷ k

Weight:
F = mg
✓ Spring is within the selected educational elastic region.

🎯 Spring Challenge

Can you create an extension of approximately 10.00 cm?
Current extension: 4.90 cm

🎯 Aim

To investigate the relationship between the force applied to a spring and the extension produced.

🧰 Apparatus

Spring, retort stand, mass hanger, slotted masses and measuring scale.

📘 Hooke’s Law

Within the elastic region of an ideal spring, extension is proportional to the applied force.

F = kx

F = force in newtons
k = spring constant in N/m
x = extension in metres

🌀 Spring Constant

The spring constant describes the stiffness of a spring.

Small k: The spring is easier to stretch.
Large k: The spring is harder to stretch.

⚖️ Effect of Mass

Increasing the hanging mass increases its weight and therefore increases the force applied to the spring.

Mass = 0.2 kg

F = mg
F = 0.2 × 9.8

F = 1.96 N

🧪 Experiment 1 — Change Mass

Keep:

Spring constant = 20 N/m

Test:
50 g
100 g
200 g
300 g
400 g

Record the extension for each mass.

🧪 Experiment 2 — Change Spring

Keep:

Mass = 100 g

Compare:
10 N/m
20 N/m
30 N/m
40 N/m
50 N/m

Observe how stiffness changes extension.

📊 Observation Table

Trial Mass Force Spring Constant Extension Final Length F/x
No readings recorded.

🔍 What to Observe

Observation 1: For the same spring, increasing the applied force increases extension.
Observation 2: For the same force, a spring with a larger spring constant stretches less.
Observation 3: For an ideal Hooke’s-law spring, F/x remains constant.

📝 Procedure

  1. Select the spring constant.
  2. Start with a small hanging mass.
  3. Observe the downward extension.
  4. Read the force and extension values.
  5. Record the observation.
  6. Add another 50 g.
  7. Record the new extension.
  8. Repeat with several masses.
  9. Compare force with extension.
  10. Repeat using another spring constant.

💡 Remember

Extension is the increase in length, not the total length of the spring.
A larger spring constant means a stiffer spring.
Hooke’s Law applies only while the spring behaves elastically.

🎓 Quick Viva Questions

1. What does Hooke’s Law state?

Within the elastic limit, the extension of an ideal spring is directly proportional to the applied force.

2. What is the equation for Hooke’s Law?

F = kx, where F is force, k is the spring constant and x is the extension.

3. What is the SI unit of spring constant?

Newton per metre (N/m).

4. What does a high spring constant mean?

It means the spring is relatively stiff and requires more force to produce the same extension.

5. What is extension?

Extension is the difference between the stretched length and the original length of the spring.

6. What happens if the elastic limit is exceeded?

A real spring may no longer return completely to its original length, and the simple Hooke’s Law relationship may no longer apply.

✅ Experiment Result

The experiment demonstrates that, for an ideal spring in its Hooke’s-law region, extension increases in direct proportion to the applied force. A spring with a larger spring constant is stiffer and produces less extension for the same force.

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