Hooke's Law

Hooke's Law

Hooke's Law states that if a spring is not stretched beyond its elastic limit, the force that acts on it is directly proportional to the extension of the spring.

Elastic Limit

The elastic limit of a spring is defined as the maximum force that can be applied to a spring such that the spring will be able to be restored to its original length when the force is removed.

Equation derived from Hooke's Law

From Hook's Law, we can derived that

Spring Constant

Spring constant is defined as the ratio of the force applied on a spring to the extension of the spring.

It is a measure of the stiffness of a spring or elastic object.

Graph of Streching Force - Extension

Gradient = Spring constant

Area below the graph = Work done


F-x graph and spring constant

The higher the gradient, the greater the spring constant and the harder (stiffer) spring.

For example, the stiffness of spring A is greater than spring B.

External Link


Interactive Animation