Spring Away!
Let's apply what we learn about Hooke's law and springs to the design of a toy that uses springs.Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
This lab demonstrates Hooke's law with the use of springs and masses. Students attempt to determine the proportionality constant, or k-value, for a spring. They do this by calculating the change in length of the spring as different masses are added to it. The concept of a spring's elastic limit is also introduced, and students test to makes sure the spring's elastic limit has not been reached during their lab tests. After compiling their data, they find an average value of the spring's k-value by measuring the slopes between each of their data points. Then they apply what they've learned about springs to how engineers might use that knowledge in the design of toys that enable kids to jump 2-3 feet in the air.
The concept of Hooke's law relates to many interesting applications of mechanical engineering and safety engineering. In this activity, students are prompted to think about a type of toy they've learned about which Hooke's law could relate to. The pogo stick comes to mind because of the spring. Engineers must consider the weight of the user and the spring constant to create the most bounce that is still safe.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the equation of Hooke's law.
- Calculate the slope of a line between two points.
- Describe how engineering concepts apply to Hooke's law.