Name: Marwan Hothan

Masses and Springs

Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Masses_and_Springs
and click on Run Now.
Objectives:
Understand the relationship between force, displacement, and spring constant for a mass
hung on a spring (as governed by Hookes Law).
Take a few minutes to orient yourself with the simulation. Play with all of the features.
You will play the role of scientist. You will ask intelligent physics related questions and then use
the simulation to answer your questions. When you ask and test your questions, it is important to
isolate one variable; otherwise it is difficult to understand what is causing a certain change in
behavior. Perhaps some variables cause no change in behavior and that is important to note also.
You will focus on the following in your questioning and testing:
Hookes Lawthe stretch of the spring (put friction on to get it to stop bouncing)
Make sure you write your questions as specifically as possible. Then, experiment to answer your
question, organizing your data in a table. Finally, answer your question with as many details as
possible! You will ask as many questions as it takes to completely investigate all aspects of
Hookes Law.

Hookslawstatethatelongationinspringisdirectlyproportionaltoappliedforce.Inmathematicaltermsit
canbewrittenas
WhereF=Appliedforce
x=elongation
k=stiffnessofspring
M(gra
F=Mg (N) x (m)
k=F/x (N/m)
m)
50
0.49
0.05
9.8
100
0.98
0.1
9.8
250
2.45
0.24
10.2
Average k
9.9

Thetabulateddatahavebeenplottedinnextfigure

Thelinearfittingshowthatthefittingisverygoodforlinearlinepassingthroughorigin.Theequation
ofthefittedlineis

,hence

DeterminingRed,Green,andGoldmasses
F=kxwherethevalueoftheaveragevalueofkis

Answerthefollowingquestions.
1. Determinethespringconstant,k,ofSpring1,byusingHookesLaw.Takethreedifferent
measurements(since3masses)anddothreecalculationsandaverageyourkstogetamoreaccurate
answer.Byapplyinglotsoffriction,youwillbeabletogetyourmasstohangstill.Showatableof
yourdataandyourcalculationsofk.
Thisparthasalreadybeendone.
2. Determinethethreeunknownmasses:Red,Green,andGold.UseHookesLawtodeterminethe
masses.Showalldataandcalculations.

Red
Green
Gold

Elongation x
M=kx*1000/9.8
(m)
(gram)
0.3
304.2
0.07
70.8
0.15
152.1

ThenextfourquestionsaskyoutoinvestigatetheeffectsdifferentparametershaveonHookesLaw.
Answerthequestionandtellwhatyoudidonthesimulationtocometoyourconclusions.
3. ExplaintheeffectofmassonHookesLaw.
Asmassincreases,theweightalsoincreasesandweightisnothingbutforcehere.Xisdirectlyproportional
toFsoxisdirectlyproportionaltom.
4. ExplaintheeffectofgravityonHookesLawbycheckingoutwhathappensinthefourdifferent
locations,aswellaswhenthereisnogravity.
FisdirectlyproportionaltogravityandHookslawsaysthatxisdirectlyproportionaltoF.Hence,we
concludethatxisdirectlyproportionaltogravityattheplace.
5. Explaintheeffectofthespringconstant,k,(stiffnessofspring)onHookesLaw.
Springconstantkistheratioofappliedforceuponelongation.So,xwillbeinverselyproportionaltothe
stiffnessconstantk.
6. ExplaintheeffectoffrictiononHookesLaw.
FrictiondoesntappearinHookslaworstatement.But,ifthereis0frictionthenthesystemwillbe
incontinuousupanddownmotion.So,frictionjustreducesthemovementstobringthesystemat
equilibrium.Butithasnoroleinelongation.