Hooke's law states that the force applied to a spring is directly proportional to the distance the spring is stretched. The more weight pulling on the spring, the farther the spring stretches.

Objectives

In this activity you will:

• Investigate how a spring stretches when various weights pull on the spring.
• Relate the stretch of the spring directly to the number of pennies and vice-versa.

Materials Needed

• CBR unit
• TI-83 and calculator-to-CBR cable
• BIG handful of pennies dated after 1983 or before 1982

  Note:
  Pennies minted prior to 1981 have a higher percentage of copper and thus have a greater mass than pennies minted from 1983 to the present, so it is important that you sort the pennies before you begin and do not mix the two different types of pennies. Do not use 1982 pennies, since their composition varies.
  

• Spring or slinky
• Paper bowl or plate
• Ring stand or hook

Copyright 1998 Texas Instruments

Activity Guide

Teacher's Guide

Information on Source