A light helical spring obeys Hooke’s law up to its elastic limit.

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials

Problem

A light helical spring obeys Hooke’s law up to its elastic limit. (i) Derive an expression for the potential energy stored in the spring when it is stretched through a distance

x

from its natural length. (ii) The spring requires a force of

12\,\text{N}

to produce an extension of

0.04\,\text{m}

. Determine the spring constant

k

. (iii) Using the value of

k

obtained in part (ii), calculate the energy stored when the spring is compressed by

0.06\,\text{m}

Related theory

Common Forces in Mechanics
Potential Energy
Work done on a spring and elastic potential energy
Work, Energy and Power
Elastic (strain) energy
Potential energy of a spring

Browse the problem library