A technician tests a spring used in a bicycle suspension. The spring is placed horizontally between a fixed support and a movable plate. A ruler is fixed beside the spring, and a force sensor measures the force on the plate. The original length of the spring is 0.160 m. The force is increased in steps, and the limit of proportionality is not exceeded.
Describe the measurements the technician should take at each step.
For one reading, let F F\,F be the force and e e\,e be the compression. Describe the calculation needed to find the spring constant, including its unit.
106 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Physics 5.3 Forces and elasticity, covering 5.3 Forces and elasticity. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.