The class is investigating the behaviour of a spring, and then using the spring to determine the weight of an object.
A student hangs various loads LLL on the spring and records the stretched length lll of the spring. The readings are shown in the table below.
| L/NL / \text{N}L/N | l/cml / \text{cm}l/cm |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | 8.1 |
| 2.0 | 11.0 |
| 3.0 | 13.9 |
| 4.0 | 17.2 |
| 5.0 | 19.8 |
Suggest one precaution that you would take when measuring the length of the spring, to ensure a reliable reading.
The student plots a graph of l/cml/\text{cm}l/cm (yyy-axis) against L/NL/\text{N}L/N (xxx-axis). The resulting best-fit straight line has a gradient of 3.0 cm/N3.0\text{ cm/N}3.0 cm/N and passes through the point (2.0,11.0)(2.0, 11.0)(2.0,11.0).
Use this line of best fit to determine: (i) the unstretched length l0l_0l0 of the spring. (ii) the weight WWW of an object that gives a stretched length of l=15.5 cml = 15.5\text{ cm}l=15.5 cm.
A student measures the weight of a different load using this same method. He gives the weight as 2.564 N2.564\text{ N}2.564 N.
Explain why this is not a suitable number of significant figures for this experiment.
245 exam-style questions on CIE IGCSE Physics 1.5 Forces, covering 1.5.1a Forces, resultant force and motion, 1.5.1b Load–extension graphs and the spring constant, 1.5.1c Friction and drag, 1.5.1d Force, mass and acceleration, 1.5.1e Motion in a circular path, 1.5.2a Moment of a force, 1.5.2b Principle of moments and equilibrium, and 1.5.3 Centre of gravity and stability. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.