Final answer:
The spring constant, denoted by k, is a measure of the stiffness of a spring. It is determined by the force required to stretch or compress the spring by a unit distance. In this case, the spring stretches 11 cm when an 85 g mass is attached to it. By using Hooke's Law, we can calculate the spring constant to be 7.57 N/m.
Step-by-step explanation:
The spring constant, denoted by k, is a measure of the stiffness of a spring. It is defined as the force required to stretch or compress a spring by a unit distance. To find the spring constant, we can use Hooke's Law, which states that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional to the distance it is stretched or compressed.
In this case, the spring stretches 11 cm when an 85 g mass is attached to it. We can convert the mass to kilograms by dividing it by 1000 (85 g = 0.085 kg). The force exerted by the spring can then be calculated using the formula F = kx, where F is the force, k is the spring constant, and x is the distance the spring stretches.
Using the given information, F = (0.085 kg)(9.8 m/s^2) = 0.833 N. When the spring stretches by 0.11 m, the force applied is 0.833 N. So, we can rearrange the formula F = kx to solve for k: k = F/x = 0.833 N / 0.11 m = 7.57 N/m.