Hang a spring vertically and measure the stretch of the spring as a function
of mass added to the spring, when the system is in equilibrium. Do not exceed
250 g mass. Take 5 points.
Use Newton’s Laws to find an expression for the force of the spring in terms of the mass, m, added.
Make a plot (by hand!) of the force of the spring versus the stretch on the
supplied paper. Each person should make a graph. One goal of this exercise
is to ensure that you can quickly make a graph by hand when needed.
First decide what "force versus stretch" means. Which variable
goes on the horizontal axis, and which on the vertical axis?
Second, decide on the ranges of the variables, i.e. the maximum minus
minimum value for each variable.
Third, examine the graph paper supplied (a coarse graph paper) and choose a scale for each axis.
Fourth, make tick marks on the axes and label them with values. Also label the axes with the variable and the units. Give a meaningful title to your graph.
Fifth, plot the data on your graph. Use a small dot surrounded by a circle or square or diamond, ( symbol not in html ) for each data point.
Sixth, if appropriate, make a fit to your data. Your data should appear to be a straight line. Draw the line and determine its slope and intercept.
What does it mean if your graph is linear?
For this graph, what does the slope tell you?
For this graph, what does the y-intercept tell you?
This page maintained by Anne G. Young. Last modified 18-Jan-2004 .