Experiment

Measurements

Activity
The goal of this activity is to determine the spring constant for Spring #1 and learn a bit about Hooke's Law along the way. The activity is broken into three parts. In the first part of the group activity you will measure the displacement of the bottom of Spring #1 when a mass is attached to it. Once you have your measurements, you will record the values in a group data table. In the last part you will analyze the results of the group. Any time you need help click on the green "Show Help" button in the simulation. Make a data table in your notebook or text document with headings called mass, weight, and displacement assuming that each group member will measure at least one mass.   Example Data Table Mass (kg) Weight (N) Displacement (m)                   Move the reference line so that it is at the bottom of Spring #1.   The reference line is the horizontal, black dashed line. Hang a mass on Spring #1. Record the mass in your data table.   The masses in the simulation are in grams (g). In the example data table the mass column is in kilograms (kg). The conversion between the two units is 1000 g = 1 kg. When the mass has come to rest measure the displacement of the bottom of the spring with the ruler.   Moving the friction slider to the right will cause the mass to come to rest quicker. Record the displacement in your data table. Make sure to record the units.   The units for displacement are usually centimetres (cm) or metres (m) for this experiment. To convert between the two units we use 100 cm = 1 m. Repeat steps 2 through 6 with a different mass or masses.

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Aside
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