Spring
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Experiment Controls
Material Selection
Spring
Rubber Band
Mass Controls
0 × 100g masses
Record Measurement
Instructions
Investigating Extension is a free interactive simulation of Hooke's Law for GCSE Physics (Edexcel IGCSE 4PH1). Students add masses to springs and elastic materials and measure extension to investigate how extension changes with the force applied. This is a required practical for Edexcel IGCSE 4PH1. No login required — includes a worksheet and self-marking quiz.
Aim: To investigate the relationship between force and extension for a spring and a rubber band.
Experiment Results
| Material | Masses (kg) | Force (N) | Extension (cm) | Actions |
|---|
No measurements recorded yet. Use the controls above to conduct experiments.
- Align the ruler with the bottom of the spring so it reads zero extension before you add any mass.
- Add a 100 g mass to the spring.
- Record the force acting (W = m × g) and the extension shown by the ruler.
- Repeat this process for four more 100 g masses, recording force and extension each time.
- Note: in a real experiment you would repeat each measurement three times and take a mean, but this simulation is deterministic, so a single reading is enough here.
- Switch the material toggle to Rubber Band and repeat the same procedure, recording force and extension for the rubber band.
- Plot a graph of Force (N) against Extension (cm) for both materials.
- Compare the two graphs. Which material stays a straight line for longer? Does either graph curve, and if so, what does that suggest about how that material behaves under load?
- Use the gradient of the straight-line region of the spring's graph to estimate its spring constant, and check it against the value chosen in "Spring Options".