Learning objectives
Students will be able to investigate the relationship between the force on a spring, the distance that it stretches, and its elastic potential energy.Real world applications
Why is it easier to stretch a slinky spring than it is to stretch a garage door spring? Slinky springs are made to be flexible enough to be used as toys. Garage door springs are made to be strong enough to support a heavy door.Select a spring
k =
F =
x =
PEelastic =
PEelastic (J)
x (m)
F (N)
x (m)
Select a spring with a given spring constant (k) and a mass to plot the elastic potential energy (PEelastic) or the force on the spring (F) versus the distance the spring is stretched (x) on the graph. Click on the graph titles to switch graphs.
Select a different spring or mass to compare the results. After all of the masses have been tested, click Best Fit Line to fit a line to the points on the graph. Click Reset to clear all stored data and start over.
