Determining the Spring Constant of a rubber band through a slingshot From the beginning I knew I wanted to start a Physics related to motion. I’ve always had an interest in using devices to fire an object at greater speeds than throwing. The reason I chose to use a slingshot was that I never used one before in my life. Using motion to determine the spring constant at a certain force allows me to have a problem to which I would solve using something I enjoy. Used in the early times for hunting and military the slingshot was still commonly known as the sling. It wasn’t till 1839 that Charles Goodyear figured out the true potential of rubber which could amplify the acceleration of the object slung with minimal effort. In today’s society the …show more content…
What Hooke’s Law states is that small deformations of an object, the displacement, or size of the deformation is directly proportional to deforming force or load2. In basic terms the amount of force you pull is proportional to amount the object stretches or retracts. F represents force measured in Newton’s and is derived from the slingshot when the rubber is released from its final displacement. x represents the length of the total displacement of the rubber band before and after its release. k called the “spring constant” is the variable we are trying to find as well is the total of the stress made on the object. Stress is the force on unit areas in a material that develops a result in externally applied force. The reason why k must be multiplied by two is because modern versions of the slingshot are designed to have a Y-shaped handle with two rubber straps and a pouch attached to the points. Since I pull the rubber band back to increase its displacement both individual strand is parallel producing the same spring constant. F would be measured the same since it would be calculated from both spring constants. x wouldn’t be doubled because both strands are united as one and both strands displacement are the …show more content…
Column1 Spring Constant(N/m)
Orange 1416.809091 ±193
Light Blue 1387.899091 ±190
Green 1421.951364 ±193
Using that force to find the spring constant from the tweaked equation mentioned before.
Conclusion
This experiment confirms the relationship of the spring constant between the objects when projected with a certain field of force. Even with their difference in mass, each ball showed similar results when launched with 620 ±80N proving that spring constant has a relationship between if experimented properly. The spring constant of the rubber band in the slingshot I used is on average 1408 ±192(N/m) when the force’s average on each ball is around 620 ±80N.
I feel that even with the uncertainties in the numbers from numbers that my answer still contains scientific proof on determining the spring constant. The answer is still close to the actual answer and I believed that I used the best of my abilities to close that gap smaller. I’m satisfied with the formula I used in this lab as it gave the chance of calculating my problem mathematically proving my solution in a more scientific