The effect of forces on Materials
Suppose a mass is connected to a spring as shown.
The spring will stretch.
If the mass is increased then the stretch will increase.
For some materials if a graph of the force (F) applied (the load) is plotted against the extension (x) then a straight line passing through the origin is obtained.
This is known as Hooke’s law and is stated below.
Hooke’s law: The extension is directly proportional to the force applied.
This is given as an equation: F = k x
Where k is a constant called the force constant.
What feature of the graph gives k ? __________________________