5.3.5 Required Practical: Investigating Force & Extension

Required Practical – Elasticity

Plotting a graph of force and extension should produce a directly proportional line as shown in the Hooke's law section above. The gradient of the line is equal to the spring constant of the spring used In the experiment.

Possible causes of error in the experiment include:

1. Inaccurate measurement of the length or extension due to human error
2. Stretching the spring past it's elastic limit, at which point the relationship between force and extension is no longer proportional and the spring does not return to it's original size when the masses are removed