Question

According to Hooke's law, the force needed to stretch a spring is proportional to the amount the spring is stretched. If 5 pounds cause a spring to stretch 0.5 inches, how many inches will the spring stretch when a force of 12 pounds is applied?

Answer 1

According to Hooke's law, the force needed to stretch a spring is proportional to the amount the spring is stretched. When a force of 12 pounds is applied, the spring will stretch by 1.2 inches.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Hooke's law, the force needed to stretch a spring is proportional to the amount the spring is stretched. We can use this relationship to find the amount the spring will stretch when a force of 12 pounds is applied.

We can set up a proportion using the given information:

5 pounds / 0.5 inches = 12 pounds / x inches

To solve for x, we can cross multiply and then divide:

x = (0.5 inches * 12 pounds) / 5 pounds

x = 1.2 inches

Therefore, the spring will stretch by 1.2 inches when a force of 12 pounds is applied.