Determine the stiffness of the spring if it is known that when it is stretched by 10 cm, an elastic force equal to 50 N.

In order to find the stiffness of the spring, we will apply Hooke’s law.

Hooke’s law is a statement according to which the deformation arising in an elastic body (spring, rod, console, beam, etc.) is proportional to the force applied to this body

F = -kx, where

x is the extension of the spring;

f – strength;

k is the stiffness coefficient.

It is known from the condition that when the spring was stretched by 10 cm, an elastic force arose equal to 50 N.

We express the stiffness coefficient from the formula:

k = – F / x.

Substitute the values and find:

k = -50 / 0.1 = -500 N / m.