Grab bag: Hooke's Law
This is a quick online activity to stimulate students in accessing prior learning and maybe to prompt further inquiry
Approaches to Learning focus: Information-literacy skills > collect, record and verify data
This task can be used to formatively assess criterion C: Processing and Evaluating
Click here to open the Phet simulation.
Set up the app as shown.
Play with the app, pulling the plunger that is attached to the spring. Observe how the forces change.
Sketch a graph to show how you think the force exerted by the spring changes for different extensions (displacements).
Now use the simulation to find values of extension against force for a given spring constant. Record and organise the values, showing quantities and units of measurement.
Plot a graph of the results.
Was your sketch graph correct?
Describe the shape of the graph. Explain what the graph tells us about the way the spring changes shape as load is applied.
This activity can be used to check for understanding and formatively assess criterion C: Processing and Evaluating. Marking notes and a rubric can be found here.