Hooke's law states that the extension of a spring or wire is directly proportional to the force applied to it, provided the limit of proportionality is not exceeded.

What does the spring constant tell you about a spring?

The spring constant is the force needed per metre of extension, so a large spring constant means a stiff spring that extends very little for a given force.

Give the SI unit of the spring constant.

The spring constant is measured in newtons per metre, N m⁻¹.

A spring of spring constant 25 N m⁻¹ is stretched by a force of 3.0 N. Calculate the extension.

Rearranging F = kx gives x = F/k = 3.0/25 = 0.12 m.

CCEA A-Level Physics 1210

Physical Quantities, Scalars and Vectors

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Deformation of Solids

Hooke's law and the spring constant

3 things to know
Unit A2 1

Overview

Hooke's law and extension of a spring.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Write the equation that expresses Hooke's law and define every symbol in it.

Key term

State Hooke's law.

Key term

What is meant by the extension of a spring?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
State Hooke's law.
Model answer
Hooke's law states that the extension of a spring or wire is directly proportional to the force applied to it, provided the limit of proportionality is not exceeded.
2
Write the equation that expresses Hooke's law and define every symbol in it.
Model answer
The equation is F = kx, where F is the applied force in newtons, k is the spring constant in N m⁻¹ and x is the extension in metres.
3
What is meant by the extension of a spring?
Model answer
The extension is the increase in length of the spring measured from its original unstretched length, in metres.
4
What does the spring constant tell you about a spring?
Model answer
The spring constant is the force needed per metre of extension, so a large spring constant means a stiff spring that extends very little for a given force.
5
Give the SI unit of the spring constant.
Model answer
The spring constant is measured in newtons per metre, N m⁻¹.
6
A spring of spring constant 25 N m⁻¹ is stretched by a force of 3.0 N. Calculate the extension.
Model answer
Rearranging F = kx gives x = F/k = 3.0/25 = 0.12 m.

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