How much displacement will a coil spring with a spring constant of 120 N/m achieve if it is stretched by a 60 N force?

1 Answer
Oct 15, 2017

#DeltaS=0.5"m"#

Explanation:

Hooke's Law for stretching of a spring:

#color(blue)(F_"sp"=kDeltaS)#

where

  • #k# is the spring constant
  • #Deltas# is the displacement of the spring from equilibrium

We want to find #Deltas#, so we can isolate that variable:

#=>color(blue)(DeltaS=(F_"sp")/k)#

Given that:

  • # |->k=120" N"//"m"#
  • # |->F_"sp"=60" N"#

#=>DeltaS=(60" N")/(120" N"//"m")#

#=>color(blue)(=0.5"m")#

#:.# The spring is stretched by half a meter, or about 50 centimeters.