Contents
Independent final check
Explain without the key
calculate / state / explain / describe / determine
Final check
A pupil tests a spring for a toy. With the empty hanger on, the pointer reads 15.0 cm. She adds 100 g masses one at a time, and her readings are in the table. Take g = 9.8 N/kg. (a) Calculate the extension for each mass added. (b) State whether her extensions are proportional to the load, and explain how you know. (c) Describe the load–extension graph that her results give, with the load up the side. (d) She takes the masses off and hangs a key ring on the empty hanger. The pointer reads 18.5 cm. Determine the weight of the key ring. (e) Describe what the loads do to the size and the shape of the spring.
calculate: work out the answer from the data. state: give a concise answer. explain: give reasons and connect them to evidence. describe: give the features or what happens. determine: find the answer from the information given.
| masses added / g | pointer reading / cm |
|---|---|
| 0 | 15.0 |
| 100 | 17.8 |
| 200 | 20.6 |
| 300 | 23.4 |
| 400 | 26.2 |
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Scope and sources
Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 · 2026–2028 v2 · Original learning materials.
Forces may produce changes in the size and shape of an object (1.5.1.1); sketch, plot and interpret load–extension graphs for an elastic solid and describe the associated experimental procedures (1.5.1.2); the spring constant as force per unit extension, k = F/x (1.5.1.9); the limit of proportionality of a load–extension graph, identified on the graph (1.5.1.10). 1.5.1.9 and 1.5.1.10 are Supplement. The elastic limit is not required and is not used. Resultant forces and F = ma are in Resultant force, friction and drag in Acceleration, falling and drag, moments in Moments and balance, and elastic potential energy in Energy, work and power.
Apparatus, amounts and times in the experiment are illustrative. Real practical work follows a teacher-approved safety method.
Official Cambridge syllabus