E205: HOOKES LAW

SEMENIANO, Hubert B.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the experiment is to study and
understand the elastic properties of a spring,
including the force constant, the deformation and
elongation, and the work done on it.
A spring is a common material used to illustrate
the idea of elasticity. Elasticity is the ability of a
material to go back to its initial size or shape
after an applied force is taken off. The concept of
elasticity was first formally incorporated by
scientist, Robert Hooke. In his theory, now
known as the Hookes law, he stated that the
deforming force, or the force applied on an
elastic object, is directly proportional to the
elongation, or the extension in length of a
material. Mathematically, this statement can be
interpreted by the equation,

where
is the deforming force,
is the
elongation,
and
is
the
constant
of
proportionality, or the force constant.
Elasticity includes the use of the terms stress and
strain. Stress describes the relation of the force
applied per unit area, and strain is the change in
dimension, shape or size of an object. Stress is
directly proportional to strain. This relationship is
called the Modulus of Elasticity.
,

Since there is force applied and change in

displacement in stretching/compressing of a
spring, work is done. The work done on a spring
can be computed by integrating the force applied
and differential displacement, x. By substitution
and simplification the formula of work done on a
spring is,

where W is the work, and xf is the final

displacement of the spring.
The concepts cited above shall be followed for the
successfulness of the experiment. One of the
objectives is to determine the constant of
proportionality of a spring. It can be computed by
the equation of Hookes Law. A weight attached
to the spring will act as the deforming force.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The first part of the experiment is setting up the
experiment. The materials needed for this
experiment are: a two springs with 4 an 8 N/m
respectively, a mass hanger, a set of weights,
and a set of Hookes Law Apparatus which
contains a transparent scale plate attached to a
clamp on the support rod, and a stretch indicator
with a grommet at the bottom.

where is the stress, is the force, is the area,

is the strain,
is the change in length, and
is the initial length.
The maximum stress which will not cause
permanent change in an elastic objects shape or
size is called the elastic limit. For this
experiment, it is important that the forces are
carefully applied on the spring to prevent any
permanent damage on the material.
Figure A-1: Springs

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stretch indicator. Adjustments were again made

to the scale plate so that the zero on the scale
plate is aligned to the bottom of the stretch
indicator.

Figure A-2: Mass hanger

Figure A-5: Attachment of stretch indicator

Figure A-3: Set of weights

Figure A-6: Setting up the equipment

Figure A-4: Stretch indicator

The first step was to attach the required spring to
the notch at the top of the apparatus and the
edge of the support arm. The scale plate was
adjusted to make space for the stretch indicator.
The stretch indicator was connected to the
spring. The mass hanger is also connected the

The second part of the experiment is determining

the force constant, k, of the spring to be used.
Two sets of trials were done, four trials per set,
and one set for each kind of spring. The first
spring used was the 4 N/m spring. After the set
up was done using this spring, a mass was
carefully placed on the mass hanger. The group
chose 5 grams as the initial mass. As the mass
was added, the spring expanded and the length
of its displacement was read and recorded. After
the reading, another mass was added on the
mass hanger and again, the displacement was
recorded. The procedure was repeated 2 more
times, but the mass added on trials 3 and 4 must
be the same mass added on trial 2. The force of
the mass placed on the hanger was calculated by
converting it to kilograms and multiplying by the
gravitational constant, 9.8 m/s2. A force-

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displacement graph was created through the data

gathered and computed. The force represented
the
vertical
axis
and
the
displacement
represented the horizontal axis. The force
constant was computed by using the equation of
Hookes Law of Elasticity.

The computations for the work and area were

done to the data gathered from both springs, 4 &
8 N/m, separately.
OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS
In the second part of the experiment, the
objective was computing for the force constant of
the spring. The force constant of the spring is
mathematically defined by deriving the equation
of Hookes law:

where F is the force applied on the spring, and x

is the displacement of the spring after force is
applied.
The force used in the experiment is the weight of
the mass placed on the hanger, weight is defined
by formula of Newtons Second Law, F=ma, in
this case, a is also g, which is the Earths
gravitational constant, 9.81 m/s2.

The 4 N/m spring used in the setup was replaced

by the 8 N/m spring. The whole procedure done
using the 4 N/m spring was performed again, this
time using the 8N/m spring.
The final part of the experiment is determining
the work done on the spring. The only materials
needed were the data gathered from the second
part, a pen, a calculator, and a piece of paper.
The first step for this part was to compute for the
work done by using the average force constant of
the spring, which was computed from the second
part, and the final displacement of the spring,
which was the displacement recorded on the
fourth trial.
The area of the figure formed under the forcedisplacement graph made on the second part of
the experiment was computed. The values
computed for the work done and the area are
compared.

Table 1A shows the data gathered using the 4

N/m spring.
TABLE 1A:
Trial

Mass
(kg)

Force
(N)

1
2
3
4

0.005
0.010
0.015
0.020

0.049
0.098
0.147
0.196

Displacement
(m)
0.009
0.018
0.027
0.036

Force
constant
(N/m)
5.44
5.44
5.44
5.44

Force vs. Displacement

0.3
Force, F

Figure B-1: Reading on Table 1A, Trial 4

The force constant can be determined by simply

dividing the force by the displacement.

0.2
0.1

Force
constant

0
0

0.02

0.04

Displacement, x

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Average force constant = 5.44 N/m

1
2
3
4

Slope of the line = 5.44

Percent difference = 0%

0.005
0.010
0.015
0.020

0.049
0.098
0.147
0.196

(m)
0.003
0.008
0.012
0.016

(N/m)
16.33
12.25
12.25
12.25

Sample Computation:
Trial 1:
Given:
F = 0.049 N, x = 0.009m

Force vs. Diplacement

Using the equation:

Force, F

0.3

k = 5.4444 N/m

0.2
0.1

Force
constant

The slope of the line was determined by using the

idea of vertical and horizontal axes, F being the
vertical and x being the horizontal. The equation
for the slope is:

0.01

0.02

Displacement, x
Average force constant = 13.27 N/m
Average slope of the line = 12.66

The ratio of the differences of the forces to the

differences of the displacements was constant so
the graph formed a straight line.

Percent difference = 4.70%

Sample Computation:
Trial 2:

Trials 1 & 2:

Given:

Given:

F = 0.049 N, x = 0.008m

F1 = 0.049N, F2 =0.098N

Using the equation:

x1 = 0.009m, x2 = 0.018m
Using the equation:

k = 12.25 N/m
The equation for the slope is:

k = 5.4444
Table 1B shows the data gathered using the
8N/m spring.
TABLE 1B:
Trial

Mass
(kg)

Force
(N)

Displacement

Force
constant

The ratio of the differences of the forces to the

differences of the displacements was inconsistent
because
the
displacement
intervals
were
inconsistent as well. The group decided to use

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the average of the slope as the value to be

compared to the average force constant.
Trials 2 & 3:

W = 0.0035 J

Given:

Given:

F2 = 0.098N, F3 =0.147N

b = 0.036 m, h = 0.196 N

x1 = 0.008m, x2 = 0.012m

Using the equation:

Using the equation:

A = 0.0035 Nm
k = 12.25

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

For the final part of the experiment, the goal was

to determine the work done on the spring, and
the area under the line of the graph. The work
can be computed using the equation,

This experiment was weird. It might be the

easiest to perform in terms of the procedure,
because it was basically about adding mass and
recording displacement, but one mistake on the
reading, even just a thousandth of a meter, could
bring the whole experiment down.

where k is the force constant, xf is the final

displacement, and xo is the initial displacement.

In setting up the equipment, the group noticed

that our table was not straight horizontally, so we
decided do the actual procedure on the floor.
There was no error made on using the spring
with the nominal force constant of 4 based on the
percent difference of the slope of the curve and
the force constant computed. The line showed a
straight line, and the percent difference between
the force constant computed and the slope was
0%. The 5.44 N/m computed was acceptable
according to our professor, but maybe the result
could have been closer to the nominal value if we
were more meticulous in recording the data. It
was difficult to read because the spring kept on
moving, almost looking like bouncing in the air
while the experiment was being done. Keeping
the spring motionless was as difficult as well.
Taking the displacement required us to look at
the scale from eye-level, being that the
equipment was on the floor, we were almost
lying on the floor while checking. The difficulties
in reading the displacement were even more
emphasized in the trials using the 8 N/m spring.
Aside from the reasons already mentioned, we
were also taking parts in looking at the scale
plate, and conferring to the other members on

Meanwhile, the area of the graph under the can

be computed by the formula used in determining
the area of a triangle,

where b is the longest displacement reached, and

h is the highest force recorded.
Trial

xf
(m)

Ave. k
(N/m)

Work
(J)

Area

1A
1B

0.036
0.016

5.44
13.27

0.0035

0.0035

Sample Computation:
Trial 1A:
Given:
k = 5.44 N/m, xf = 0.036 m
Using the equation:

%
differrence
0

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what to put on the data sheet. On the first

reading for this spring, all three of us agree that
it was 0.003 meters. After doing the final reading
on the 4th trial, we already knew that the first
value we agreed upon was not right. The other
three trials had constant differences, but we
decided to stick to our reading. Because of that
mistake, the slopes between each point were not
constant, and the graph did not make a straight
line. For the slope, we decided to take the
average of the slopes as the one to be compared
to the also inconsistent force constant. It is such
a shame that we did not decide to redo the
experiment to check, and make sure what the
force constant of the spring actually was.

Physics Laboratory Manual, Mapua Institute of

Technology
http://physics.info/elasticity/
http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/301/lectur
es/node61.html

The set of trials made with the 4 N/m spring had

not much problems, but the data gathered using
the 8 N/m spring was an absolute failure on our
part. The objectives were reached for the first set
of trials, but the inconsistency of the results in
the second set of trials was the reason that the
objectives were not achieved overall.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT & REFERENCE
I would like to thank, first, my group mates for
everyones contribution and cooperation to this
not so successful experiment on the properties of
elasticity and Hookes Law. I would also like to
thank the YouTube channel Music of Life for the
playlist of songs of different artists, for helping
me get through, and finishing this report.
I would like to thank my parents, for their never
ending love, support and understanding. I want
to thank God, our creator and provider, for giving
me strength and wisdom.
I would also like to thank the lab assistants for
instructing us how to properly use and take care
of the materials needed, and of course, our
professor, Engr. Ricardo de Leon for his kindness,
understanding, and the knowledge that he gives
to us.

Halliday, D., Walker, J., & Resnick, R. Principles

of Physics (10th ed.).John Wiley and Sons

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