Hooke’s Law Lab Report
Judy Ayman
10T physics
12/12/2021
Introduction
Our aim in this experiment is to prove Hooke’s law by calculating the Hooke’s
constant of the spring using slot masses, a ruler and spring. The masses are
used to act as a force which is going to stretch the spring by its own weight. The
ruler is used to measure the nal length of the spring once we put an additional
mass. By knowing the force and the extension, we can start plotting a force vs
extension graph to calculate the spring constant from the slope of the graph. The
extension is the dependent valuable and the force is the independent. Hooke’s
law of springs states that the force will always be directly proportional to the
extension without exceeding the elastic limit. So Hooke’s law is Force = Spring
constant * Extension, which means that if we sketch a force vs extension graph,
the relationship will be a straight line passing through the origin with a slope of K
(spring constant). If we exceed the elastic limit, the relationship between force
and extension will not be linear anymore as the spring will behave differently. At
the end, the plotted points will be found to follow a straight line, and this proves
Hooke’s law. If different amounts of forces are added to the spring, then it will
extend in a proportional manner because this is what Hooke’s law states. After
extracting the experimental spring constant from our graph, we will compare it
with the theoretical spring constant and see how far it is from the theoretical
spring
Results tables
Mass (g) Length (cm) Weight (“F”/N) Extension (“x”/cm)
250g 11.5cm 2.50N 7.9cm
225g 11.0cm 2.25N 7.0cm
200g 9.70cm 2.00N 5.7cm
175g 9.00cm 1.75N 5.0cm
150g 8.00cm 1.50N 4.0cm
125g 7.50cm 1.25N 3.5cm
100g 6.80cm 1.00N 2.8cm
75.0g 6.00cm 0.75N 2.0cm
50.0g 5.30cm 0.50N 1.3cm
25.0g 4.50cm 0.25N 0.5cm
2
.
fi
Graphs
Weight of the block vs the extension of the spring in cm
Analysis and Conclusion
To get the slope, I chose two points on the line and calculated the rise over run.
The slope is 2/5.7=0.35
The literal value of the spring constant (k) is 1.715 N/cm. My experimental value
of k is 0.35. The percentage error is 1.715 - 0.35/1.715 x 100= 79.59 %
It is clear from the graph that the patten of the points are following a straight line,
indicating that Hooke’s law is valid. The graph shows that when the weight
gradually increased, the extension also increased. So, we tried to sketch a best t
line that can go through all the points. Not all the points are actually falling on the
line which means that there is an outlier. The outlier could’ve been a minor
experimental error. The error could’ve been human error when we tried to
measure the nal length using the ruler as the table was unstable
Evaluation
Limitations Improvements
My hand was shaking while measuring the To reduce the random error, we could’ve
spring with the ruler used a set square with a built-on stable ruler
We only did one experimental trial We could’ve done multiple trials to reduce
the random error and to make sure results
are consistent and reliable
Meter sticks were used to measure Smaller rulers would be more accurate,
because millimeters were utilized
4
fi
fi
