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Printable Physics practice

Six original questions. Worked answers start on a separate page.

· Forces, energy and momentum PDF · DC circuits and electrical energy PDF · Waves, phase and interference PDF · GCSE density and measurement PDF · GCSE heating and changes of state PDF · GCSE Hooke’s law and elastic energy PDF · GCSE practical calculations: mixed review PDF

Each set number reproduces the same questions. For classroom display or interactive checking, open a question’s practice link.

Treat the given values as exact unless an uncertainty is stated.

GCSE Hooke’s law and elastic energy

Set 42 · Original PhysicsHelp questions · Selected AQA 8463 / OCR Gateway J249 skills

Question 1

A spring has constant 80 N m⁻¹ and extension 5 cm. The spring obeys Hooke’s law over this range. Find the force. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

gcse-springs / force / v1.0.0 / seed 42 · Check interactively

Question 2

A 3 N force stretches a spring with constant 50 N m⁻¹. The spring obeys Hooke’s law over this range. Find its extension in metres. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

gcse-springs / extension / v1.0.0 / seed 104771 · Check interactively

Question 3

A spring is 12 cm long unloaded and 20 cm long under a 4 N force. The spring obeys Hooke’s law over this range. Find the spring constant. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

Unloaded length 12 cmLoaded length 20 cmForce 4 N
Spring unloaded length 12 cm; loaded length 20 cm; applied force 4 N. The sketch shows arrangement, not a ruler reading.

gcse-springs / loaded-length / v1.0.0 / seed 209500 · Check interactively

Question 4

A 400 g mass hangs at rest from a vertical spring of constant 50 N m⁻¹. Use g = 10 N kg⁻¹. The spring obeys Hooke’s law over this range. Find the extension. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

gcse-springs / hanging-mass / v1.0.0 / seed 314229 · Check interactively

Question 5

A spring of constant 40 N m⁻¹ is stretched 5 cm from its unloaded length. The spring obeys Hooke’s law over this range. Find the elastic potential energy stored. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

gcse-springs / elastic-energy / v1.0.0 / seed 418958 · Check interactively

Question 6

A straight force–extension line passes through (extension 0.01 m, force 1 N) and (0.09 m, 9 N). Force is on the vertical axis. The spring obeys Hooke’s law over this range. Calculate its gradient, which is the spring constant. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

gcse-springs / graph-gradient / v1.0.0 / seed 523687 · Check interactively

Worked answers — GCSE Hooke’s law and elastic energy

Set 42. Keep intermediate values unrounded. The stated practice checks accept values rounding to 3 significant figures.

Question 1

  1. x = 0.05 m.
  2. F = 80 × 0.05 N.
  3. Answer: 4.00 N (3 significant figures).

Question 2

  1. x = 3 / 50 m.
  2. Answer: 0.0600 m (3 significant figures).

Question 3

  1. x = 20 − 12 = 8 cm = 0.08 m.
  2. k = 4 / 0.08 N m⁻¹.
  3. Answer: 50.0 N m⁻¹ (3 significant figures).

Question 4

  1. m = 0.4 kg.
  2. F = 0.4 × 10 N.
  3. x = 4 / 50 m.
  4. Answer: 0.0800 m (3 significant figures).

Question 5

  1. E = 0.5 × 40 × 0.05² J.
  2. Answer: 0.0500 J (3 significant figures).

Question 6

  1. k = (9 − 1) / (0.09 − 0.01) N m⁻¹.
  2. Answer: 100 N m⁻¹ (3 significant figures).