A spring is used to measure weight. The diagram shows how the extension of the spring varies with the weight hung from it. What is the extension when a weig...
Question 1 Report
A spring is used to measure weight. The diagram shows how the extension of the spring varies with the weight hung from it.
What is the extension when a weight of 2.5 N is hung from the spring?
Answer Details
The graph shows a straight line through the origin, meaning extension is directly proportional to weight. Reading the plotted points: at 1 N the extension is 2 cm, at 2 N it is 4 cm, at 3 N it is 6 cm, and at 4 N it is 8 cm. This gives a constant ratio of 2 cm per newton.
For a weight of 2.5 N, the extension is 2.5 × 2 = 5.0 cm. This can also be found by reading directly from the straight-line graph at the midpoint between the 2 N and 3 N data points, which lies at 5.0 cm on the vertical axis.
Selecting 2.5 cm would result from dividing rather than multiplying, while 25 cm might arise from misreading the scale. The proportional relationship (Hooke's law region) means any intermediate value can be found by interpolation along the straight line.
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