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Lab III Problem 1: Springs and Equilibrium I

Kassra Taghizadeh
October 28, 2016
Physics 1201W Section 100, Professor: Noireaux, TA: Banagin

ABSTRACT
The spring constants for two different systems modeling the
stretching of a DNA molecule with an optical bead and without
one were determined. Model one was a weight hanging from a
spring vertically. Model 2 was a spring being stretched
horizontally by a cart connected to a string which is run over a
pulley and extended by weight on the string. Based on the rules
of spring constants it was determined that the optical bead model
had a higher k value making it more difficult to extend.
INTRODUCTION
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I am a member of a biophysics research group. We are

studying cell division and how the mechanics of DNA molecules
work during this division. To test the mechanics of a cell a
traditional method requires the DNA to be stretch out of its coiled
state into a straighten one. A bead is attached to the free end of
the DNA and we have a concern that the mass of it could change
the way that the DNA straightens when pulled taught. For the
purpose of this experiment, the DNA will be modeled by a metal
spring in two instances. The first instance will have a mass
hanging from the spring with the mass being the variable. The
second (optical bead scenario) will have the mass connected to a
string which is run over a pulley to a cart. On the other side of the
cart is the spring which is also connected to the track on which
the cart lies. We will determine how the stretch of the spring is
different based on the scenario in which it is measured using the
mass and extension of springs to calculate the spring constants.

PREDICTION

To solve for the spring constant, k, in both parts of the

experiment we need to understand all the forces acting on the
spring in both systems. In part on of the experiment the weight is
hanging straight from a spring. (Reference image 1 for Part
One Below) Keep in mind that gravity is 9.8m/s2 and is notated
with a g.

kx

X
x
m

m
mg
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Considering the above system x is the displacement of the spring

or the extension of the spring from its normal position before the
mass was added. Because this system is in equilibrium we can
determine all the forces acting on the mass.

F y =kxmg=0
F x =0

The only forces acting on this system are the forces in the y-axis.
From the forces acting in the y direction a formula to determine
the spring constant can be manipulated.
mg
k=
x

For part 2 of this experiment the spring is attached to a

small cart and there is a string that is run across from the cart to
a pulley and the string is then weighed down by the masses used
in part one. The goal of part 2 is to also determine the spring
constant, k, and see how it differs. (Reference Image 2 Below
for Part 2)

x
kx T
pull M
M ey
car
t
T
y m
m

X mg

When we consider the system for part 2, at first glance it

may seem more difficult to determine k because of the
introduction of another mass(M) and a tension force T. Remember
that friction is negligible and the strings mass is also negligible. If
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all the forces are calculated and symbolically represented it is

determined that k can be found using the same formula as for
part one.

F y =T mg=0 T =mg
F x =T kx T =kx

Therefore, using the formulas of what the Tension is equivalent to,

it can be determined that the spring constant formula is the same
for part 2 and part 1.

mg=kx
mg
k=
x

The mass, M, is negligible in the spring constant calculation

because when determining the forces in the y direction the weight
of the M and its normal force cancel each other out.
Considering that the spring constant, k, is a constant value
and should theoretically not change, it can be predicted that as
the weight acting on the system increases so should the
displacement of the spring. The relationship between the weight
and displacement of the spring is a positive linear relationship.
This linear relationship that is created will have a slope that is
equivalent to the value of k. The larger the k value the harder the
spring is to stretch. Because of the simplicity of the part one
system it should have a smaller k value making it the easier
spring to stretch.

PROCEDURE

To begin part one of the experiment, a spring is attached to a

surface so that it is aligned vertically: one end on the underside of
a surface and the other free hanging. While the spring is at rest
the length of the spring is measured in meters to determine the
normal length of the spring in this system. A 30g mass piece is
attached to the hanging end of the spring. The spring extends and
the new length of the spring is calculated. The difference of the
normal to the stretched spring is determined to calculate x. These
values are recorded (the mass and extension) and put into a
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table. This process is repeated seven more times while increasing

the mass by 10g each time this process is repeated. Once all the
data is gathered, k is calculated for each trial using the equation
for determining the spring constant, which was determined in the
prediction section. Before doing all this the mass unit is converted
from grams to kilograms to determine accurate units to the
constant. All the k-values were then averaged the mean k-value
was found along with the k standard deviation by calculation
through excel. Using the data gathered, the weight exerted on the
spring(dependent) was graphed against the
displacement(independent) of the spring and a linear function
was fitted using excel. The calculated mean of k is then compared
with the slope of the linear function.
For part two of the experiment, a spring is spring is attached to a
wall horizontally and the other side is connecting to small cart.
Attached to the other side of the cart is a string that run
horizontally to a pulley which is where the string goes straight
down because weights are attached to the string (see reference
2). When no weights are attached the normal length of the spring
is measured. Weights are added in the same intervals of 10g
starting from 30g and ending at 100g. At each weight the
extension of the spring is determined and recorded. Following the
8 trails, mass units are converted to kilograms and the k values
are determined. The average and standard deviation is calculated
using excel. Like in part one, the weight is graphed against the
extension and a best fit line is determined. The mean k value is
compared with the slope of the best fit line.
The k values of part one and part two are now compared to
determine if the stretch of the springs are different in each case:
horizontal vs. vertical.

DATA

Displacement(m Mass Weight(kg Calculated k TABLE 1: Determined and

) (kg) Figure
m/s 2
) 1: Based on the line of best fit the most accurate value for k
Displacement Mass Weight(kg Calculated Calculated values from
0.031
in part one is 6.598 which is very close to the value of k that was
(m) (kg) 0.03 0.294
m/scalculated:
2
) 9.483870968
K 7.85. Part One
0.046 0.03
0.023 0.04 0.392 8.52173913
0.294 12.7826087 From the calculated k values
TABLE 2: Determined and
0.063 0.05 0.49 7.777777778 the mean value is 7.85 and
0.04 0.04 0.392 9.8 Calculated values from
the standard deviation is .
0.077
0.052 0.06
0.05 0.588 9.423076923
0.49 7.636363636 Part Two
774.
0.092 0.07 0.686 7.456521739 From the calculated k values
0.071 0.06 0.588 8.281690141
0.106 0.08 0.784 8.265060241
7.396226415 the mean value is 8.957 and
0.083 0.07 0.686 the standard deviation is
0.121 0.09 0.882 7.289256198
0.101 0.08 0.784 7.762376238 1.74
0.135 0.1 Figure 2: Based
0.98 on the line of best fit, the most accurate value for k
7.259259259
0.113 0.09
in 0.882
part two7.805309735
is 9.8 which very close to the value of k calculated: 8.957.
0.13 0.1 0.98 7.538461538
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ANALYSIS

When comparing spring constants one must understand that

the larger the k value is the more difficult that spring is to extend
based on its system. At first glance of Figures 1 and 2 it is
apparent that the fitted slope for part 2 is larger than the fitted
slope for part 1. The same goes with the average k values that
were calculate: part 1 has a smaller average of values than the
values of part 2.
All these calculations were made by gathering the data and
determining the mean of the k values and determine its standard
deviation or all the points were plotted in a weight vs
displacement graph and the linear best fit was determined to find
the k value. Although the 2 k values for each part of the
experiment were not identical they were either very close or
within the standard deviation of each other. In the case of the part
one calculated k value of 7.85. The spring constant standard
deviation for this was .774. When comparing this with the linear
fit slope k value of 6.598 you can immediate tell that it doesnt
fall within the standard deviation of the mean value. Even though
it doesnt fall within the deviation it is very close which shows
reliability in the data. This is alright because we did not
theoretically calculate any value. This all experimental data. In
regards to the part two data it is shown that the linear fit slope k
value of 9.8 is within the calculated mean and standard deviation
of 8.957+/- 1.74. All-in-all all the k values determined for each
part are a good fit for the data acquired. Alongside the fact that
these k values are solid experimental data, all the data supports
the prediction made. By looking at the graphs and tables it is easy
to see that the weight and the extension of the spring are linearly
related in the positive direction.
In this investigation there were few sources of error. Friction
was assumed negligible therefor it remained unquantified in our
experiment. Error was also involved into the extensions of the
spring. The extension was measured with a straight edge meter
stick being held against the spring. Eyeballing this measurement
with the meter stick was an accurate measurement but still
comes with error.
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CONCLUSION

The stretching of DNA with and without an optical bead were

modeled using two different systems. These systems can be seen
in the prediction as Reference 1 and 2. To compare how the
stretch of a DNA molecule with an optical bead and without, each
model was tested with different masses to see how the springs
extension changed. This allowed the discovery of the spring
constant for each part of the investigation. The spring constants
were determined by dividing the weight by the extension of the
spring, and then finding the average of all these values. K was
also determined by using the slope on the weight vs displacement
graphs. Based on the basic trend of the spring constants it was
determined that the optical bead model tended to have a larger
spring constant than the model without the bead. This confirmed
our prediction that the optical bead in fact makes it more difficult
to stretch out.