Core Practical: Investigating Force & Extension
2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 1. Forces & Motion → Forces, Movement & Changing Shape
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Springs and rubber bands: the method
The spring investigation hangs loads from a clamped spring and reads the stretch against a ruler. The independent variable is the applied force, the dependent variable the extension, and the pointer — the fiducial marker — is what makes the ruler readings honest.
What you know already
Core practical 2 asks one question — how does extension answer to applied force? — for three test materials: a spring, a metal wire and a rubber band. This note walks both apparatus set-ups, the measurement discipline, and the analysis that turns a results table into a proportionality verdict.
Key points of understanding
- The independent variable is the applied force; the dependent variable is the extension.
- Each 100 g load contributes a force of 1.0 N, since 0.1 kg × 10 N/kg.
- A pointer (fiducial marker) aligned with the ruler scale gives accurate length readings.
- The full loading run is repeated three times on the spring so an average length can be taken at each load.
- Extension is the difference between the average length under load and the original unloaded length.
Example set-up of the equipment used to investigate force and extension for a spring
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1.Springs and rubber bands: the method
The spring investigation hangs loads from a clamped spring and reads the stretch against a ruler. The independent variable is the applied force, the dependent variable the extension, and the pointer — the fiducial marker — is what makes the ruler readings honest.
Example set-up of the equipment used to investigate force and extension for a spring
Key points
- The independent variable is the applied force; the dependent variable is the extension.
Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_kN63sqWsc9QdHSVx, pinned at bfae99778094 · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources b3caaaa90c5e
