Graphical analysis is commonly used to determine unknown physical properties. For quantities that are linearly proportional to each other, physicists often use the slope of the best‑fit line to a scatter plot in order to determine the proportionality constant.
A common physics lab experiment involves hanging different masses ?? from a spring of unknown spring constant ?. The resulting spring stretches Δ?? are then plotted versus the weight ??? of each hanging mass, where ? is the gravitational acceleration.
What is the algebraic expression for the slope of the resulting best‑fit line? Assume that the positive ?-direction is downwards
slope:

Graphical analysis is commonly used to determine unknown physical properties. For quantities that are linearly proportional...
3. It is often convenient to represent experimental data in graphical form. This can be used as an averaging of data and Force Displacement also to obtain additional information. Assume that a spring stretches with the following relationships of Force to Displacement: a) Plot the data using the horizontal x-axis for the displacement (lb) 2.5 7.5 12.0 b) Draw a straight line through the data approximating the best 165 19.0 25.0 32.0 (in) .05 and the vertical y-axis for the...
3. It is often convenient to represent experimental data in graphical form. This can be used as an averaging of data and Force Displacement also to obtain additional information. Assume that a spring stretches with the following relationships of Force to Displacement: a) Plot the data using the horizontal x-axis for the displacement (lb) 2.5 7.5 12.0 b) Draw a straight line through the data approximating the best 165 19.0 25.0 32.0 (in) .05 and the vertical y-axis for the...
Spring Constants & Periods By varying the mass placed on a spring, the period of oscillation can be changed. When multiple data sets are collected and plotted, the spring constant can be determined. Before data was collected, the minimum and maximum masses were determined by visually watching the harmonic motion. For the minimum, a mass was chosen such that the resulting simple harmonic motion had an appreciable amplitude without significant dampening over ten periods. For the maximum, the mass was...