Rubber Band Lab

Rubber Band Lab

Purpose:We used the relationship of force and distance to measure spring potential(stored) energy of the rubber band.

Procedure: We attached a force probe to a single looped rubber band  and pulled the rubber band back by increments of .01 meters each time, holding our force probe for ten seconds at each distance. We did this a total of 5 times and took the mean of the force each time. We then completed this same exact procedure using a double banded rubber band.

 Data: for Single and Double Banded Rubber Bands:

From this we came to the conclusion that force and distance are directly proportionate. The further distance you go, the more force you need to get it there.

We then plotted our points, putting distance(m) on the x-axis and force(N) on the y-axis. This means that our Independent Variable(IV) is the distance the rubber band was stretched(m), and the Dependent Variable(DV) is the amount of force stored. We used a best fit line to interpret our data and came up with a slope of 57.143N/m for the single banded rubber band, and a slope of 280.5N/m for our double banded rubber band.

Because we were using a line, we modeled our equation off of y=mx+b and got the equation for spring force: Fs=kx

• Fs= Spring Force(N)
• k=Spring Constant(m) --> depends on object
• x=stretched distance

To find the Spring Potential Energy we used points on the line to create triangles, and from these triangles we used the equation A=1/2bh(area of a triangle) to derive the equation for Spring Potential Energy: Us=1/2kx^2

• Us=Spring Potential Energy
• k=spring constant--> depends on the object
• x^2=stretched distance

Connection to the Real World: 

Bow and Arrow

Slingshot:

Both the bow and arrow and the slingshot are perfect examples of spring force and potential energy!

• the farther you bull back on the band of either one, the more force it requires(distance and force=proportionate)
• the farther back you pull, the more energy you have stored
• the more force you pull back, the further the distance
• the more energy you have stored the more kinetic energy you will create upon release