By Hooke’s law, we know that the magnitude of the restoring force of a spring is Fs=kx, where k is the spring constant and x is the distance the spring stretches.  We also know that the magnitude of the gravitational force is w=mg. Therefore, if we attach a weight to the end of a spring and allow it to hang in static equilibrium, these two forces must balance each other out. Find the equation that can be used to determine the spring constant k if a mass m is attached to the end of the spring, assuming you can measure m as well as the amount the spring stretches, x

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By Hooke’s law, we know that the magnitude of the restoring force of a spring is Fs=kx, where k is the spring constant and x is the distance the spring stretches.  We also know that the magnitude of the gravitational force is w=mg. Therefore, if we attach a weight to the end of a spring and allow it to hang in static equilibrium, these two forces must balance each other out.


Find the equation that can be used to determine the spring constant k if a mass m is attached to the end of the spring, assuming you can measure m as well as the amount the spring stretches, x.

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