Final answer:
The force required to stretch a spring an additional 10 cm depends on the spring's constant. Without knowing the spring constant, we cannot determine the needed force. Hence, the correct answer is A) It depends on the spring constant.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine how much force will be required to pull a spring an additional 10 cm, it's necessary to know the spring constant (also known as the force constant) of the spring in question. The force required to stretch or compress a spring is given by Hooke's Law, which can be expressed as F = kx, where F is the force applied to the spring, k is the spring constant, and x is the displacement from the spring's equilibrium position.
One of the provided references gives an example where a spring stretches 8.00 cm for a 10.0 kg load. Using the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2), we can find the force (F = mass × gravity) exerted by the load on the spring, which is then equal to the force experienced by the spring. Then, the spring constant can be calculated as k = F / x.
Given the relationship between force, spring constant, and displacement, the answer to the student's question is A) It depends on the spring constant, as without knowledge of the spring constant, it is not possible to precisely calculate the force required.
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