Figure 6 shows part of the inside of a pen. The pen contains a spring that can be compressed. The spring constant of the spring is 260 N/m. (i) Calculate the force needed to compress the spring by the amount shown in Figure 6. Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures. (3)

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Figure 6 shows part of the inside of a pen - Edexcel - GCSE Physics: Combined Science - Question 4 - 2023 - Paper 2

Question 4

Figure 6 shows part of the inside of a pen. The pen contains a spring that can be compressed. The spring constant of the spring is 260 N/m. (i) Calculate the force... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Figure 6 shows part of the inside of a pen - Edexcel - GCSE Physics: Combined Science - Question 4 - 2023 - Paper 2

Step 1

Calculate the force needed to compress the spring by the amount shown in Figure 6.

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Answer

To find the force needed to compress the spring, we can use Hooke's Law, which states that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional to the displacement, given by the formula:

$F = k imes x$

where:

$F$ is the force in Newtons (N),
$k$ is the spring constant (260 N/m),
$x$ is the displacement (6.2 mm), which needs to be converted to meters:

$x = 6.2 ext{ mm} = 0.0062 ext{ m}$

Now, substituting the values into the formula:

$F = 260 ext{ N/m} imes 0.0062 ext{ m}$

Calculating this gives:

$F = 1.612 ext{ N}$

Rounding to two significant figures, the final answer is:

1.6 N

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