Hookes Law - Interactive 3D Simulation

This is a student or teacher controlled 3d simulation of an experiment that allows you to verify Hooke’s Law which states that the amount a substance stretches when a force is applied to it is proportional to the force.
When we apply some force an elastic or a steel wire it will stretch and intuitively we are aware that the bigger the force the more it will stretch. We are also aware that some materials stretch more than others. What exactly is the relationship between the force and the amount something stretches for a particular material? That’s the question that we are going to answer with this experiment.

The user can control the weight applying a force to the wire. The user is free to move anywhere within the laboratory in order to interact with the apparatus.

You can try one of the simulations from our website. Instructions are viewable within the simulation.

The simulation is perfect for demonstrating this experiment in front of the class but can also be used by students in a variety of ways:

• Directly to prepare for a laboratory experiment by familiarising them with the equipment to be used and the methodology of the experiment.

• As revision for an experiment that has previously been performed in the laboratory.

• For home-learning where there is no access to a laboratory.

• To make up for an experiment missed due to sickness.

• As a personal experience of an experiment normally only performed by the teacher in front of the class.

Downloads comprise a Powerpoint giving full instructions including a video, background on the Physics and a zip file containing the simulation application.

The Virtual Physics Laboratory of which this simulation is a part, has the Association for Science Education’s Green Tick of Approval. More information can be found on our website.

I’ve found your software very useful when a concept comes up with pupils and I have to demonstrate something really quickly without having the time to set up a formal experiment for them. The graphics are great and I really like the ability to move around the classroom and observe the experiment from different aspects. I am far more likely to go to one of your interactive experiments if it’s demonstrating something that we don’t have equipment for.“

Andrew McPhee Wellington School

I thought that the controls were pretty easy to get used to and the detail in the apparatus was excellent being able to zoom in and see the set up of the multi-meter and read scales, being careful of parallax. This type of software is most useful in experiments which can’t be done in the lab like the gravity on the moon or where the equipment is too expensive or difficult to use like the Millikan Oil drop."

Physics Scholar Coordinator.