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Weight and Stretching

The document discusses force, weight, Hooke's law, and stretching springs. It defines force and weight, and explains that Hooke's law states that the extension of a spring is proportional to the applied force. It provides an example of calculating the force constant of a spring and using Hooke's law to determine the extension caused by a given force.

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10 views

Weight and Stretching

The document discusses force, weight, Hooke's law, and stretching springs. It defines force and weight, and explains that Hooke's law states that the extension of a spring is proportional to the applied force. It provides an example of calculating the force constant of a spring and using Hooke's law to determine the extension caused by a given force.

Uploaded by

nyabuti300
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Weight and Stretching

Force
A force is a push or a pull. It can cause a body at rest to move, or if the body is already moving
it can change its speed or direction of motion. A force can also change a body’s shape or size

The unit of force is the newton (N)


Weight is an example of force, also known as the force of gravity.

The weight of a body can be measured by hanging it on a spring balance marked in newtons

On most of the Earth’s surface:

The weight of a body of mass 1 kg is 9.8 N.


Often this is taken as 10 N.

A mass of 2 kg has a weight of 20 N, and so on. The mass of a body is the


same wherever it is and, unlike weight, does not depend on the presence of
the Earth.

Hooke’s law
Stretching a spring

Arrange a steel spring as shown. Read the scale opposite the bottom of
the hanger. Add 100 g loads one at a time (thereby increasing the
stretching force by steps of 1 N) and take the readings after each one.
Enter the readings in a table for loads up to 500 g.
Note that at the head of columns (or rows) in data tables it is usual to
give the name of the quantity or its symbol followed by / and the unit.
Springs were investigated by Robert Hooke nearly 350 years ago. He found that the extension
was proportional to the stretching force provided the spring was not permanently
stretched. This means that doubling the force doubles the extension, trebling the force trebles
the extension, and so on.

Using the sign for proportionality, ∝, we can write


Hooke’s law as
extension ∝ stretching force

It is true only if the elastic limit or ‘limit of proportionality’ of the spring is not exceeded. In
other words, the spring returns to its original length when the force is removed

The graph is for a spring stretched beyond its elastic limit, E.


OE is a straight line passing through the origin O and is
graphical proof that Hooke’s law holds over this range. If the
force for point A on the graph is applied to the spring, the
proportionality limit is passed and on removing the force some
of the extension (OS) remains. Over which part of the graph
does a spring balance work?
The force constant, k, of a spring is the force needed to
cause unit extension, i.e. 1 m. If a force F produces
extension x then
𝐹
k= 𝑥
Rearranging the equation gives
F = kx
This is the usual way of writing Hooke’s law in symbols.

Hooke’s law also holds when a force is applied to a straight metal wire or an elastic band,
provided they are not permanently stretched. Force–extension graphs similar to the one above
are obtained. You should label each axis of your graph with the name of the quantity or its
symbol followed by / and the unit, as shown in the figure above For a rubber band, a small force
causes a large extension.

Worked example
A spring is stretched 10 mm (0.01 m) by a weight of 2.0 N. Calculate:
a) the force constant k, and
b) the weight W of an object that causes an extension of 80 mm (0.08 m).
Questions
1. A body of mass 1 kg has weight 10 N at a certain place. What is the weight of
a) 100 g,
W = 10 x mass(kg)
W = 10 x 0.1kg = 1N

b) 5 kg,
W = 10 x mass{kg}
W = 10 x 5kg = 50N.

c) 50 g?
W = 10 x mass{kg}
W = 10 x 0.05kg = 0.5N

2. The force of gravity on the Moon is said to be one-sixth of that on the Earth. What would
a mass of 12 kg weigh
a) on the Earth, and
Weight = 10 x 12 = 120N✔
b) on the Moon?
Weight = 10 x 12 x ⅙ = 20N
3. What is the force constant of a spring which is stretched
a) 2 mm by a force of 4 N,
𝑓
K= 𝑥
4
= 0.002 = 2000N/m✔
b) 4 cm by a mass of 200 g?
𝑓
K= 𝑥
2
= 0.04 = 50N/m✔
4. The spring in Figure 6.5 stretches from 10 cm to 22 cm when a force of 4 N is applied. If
it obeys Hooke’s law, its total length in cm when a force of 6 N is applied is
A 28 B 42 C 50 D 56 E 100

Extension = 12
Force = 4 N
k= f/x = 4/12 = ⅓

⅓ = 6N / x
X=F/k
x = 6 / ⅓ = 18 cm
Total length = 10 + 18 = 18 cm

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