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Physics 157 Tutorial 2 – Young’s modulus
Today, we’ll think about how the length of an object changes when
stretching or compressing forces act on it. There is also a problem (#9) in
which the length is determined by changes in both stress and temperature.
You should be sure to try that problem, and ask the TA if you are stuck.
You will work in groups of three or four, but each person should
complete their own worksheet to hand in.
Ask the TA to come to your group if you are stuck.
You’ve probably learned about Hooke’s Law for a
spring. This says that if we exert a pushing or
pulling force F on the spring, the change in length
ΔL is related to the force by
(1) F = k ∆L
Here, F is positive for pulling and negative for
pushing. The number k is a constant (the “spring
constant”) that is larger for stiffer springs.
Actually, almost all materials obey a law like this (as
long as the forces aren’t too large); they are just
usually not as stretchy as a spring, so it’s harder to
measure ∆L. For a block of some solid material,
like a brick, the constant k in the equation above
depends on the material, but also on the
dimensions of an object.
Let’s understand how:
Question 1: First, let’s think about how k depends on the cross-sectional area
A, shown in the middle figure above.
Suppose we have an object with twice the cross-sectional area as the one in
the pictures above, but the same length. If we also apply twice as much
compressive force as in the first picture above (shown at the right), we expect
that the amount of compression ∆L will be
a) Twice as much as in the first picture above
b) Half as much as in the first picture above
c) The same as in the first picture above
Why?
Hint: we can’t use equation (1) to answer this because the constant k may not
be the same for the two cases. Instead, compare the two pictures and think of
a direct argument for your answer.
Question 2: For each quantity below, circle one of the options to say how that
quantity in the example of question 1 compares to the original case:
F: same as before double half
ΔL: same as before double half
k = F/ ΔL: same as before double half
A: same as before double half
Question 3: Based on your answer to question 2, would you say that k is
a) proportional to the area A (i.e. doubling A doubles k)
b) inversely proportional to the area A (i.e. doubling A halves k)
c) independent of the area A (i.e. doubling A doesn’t change k)
Check with a TA to make sure you have the right answer here!
Question 4: Now let’s understand how k depends on the length/thickness of
our object if we keep the cross-sectional area fixed. First, imagine a bed made
from a thin foam mattress. Now imagine a second bed made from several of
these stacked on top of one another. If two people of the same mass lay on
each bed, we expect that
a) The second bed will compress significantly less than the first
b) The second bed will compress the same amount as the first
c) The second bed will compress significantly more than the first
Question 5: The figure below shows an object with twice the length and the
same cross-sectional area as the object in the first picture on the previous
page. If we apply the same force as in that case, there will be:
a) The same compression as before.
b) Half the compression as before.
c) Twice the compression as before.
Hint: Use your intuition from question 4! Question 5 is like the situation with
two mattresses, except things are rotated so the forces are horizontal.
Can you give a convincing argument for your answer?
Question 6: For each quantity below, circle one of the options to say
how that quantity in the example of question 5 compares to the original
case:
F: same as before double half
ΔL: same as before double half
k = F/ ΔL: same as before double half
L0: same as before double half
Question 7: Based on your answer to question 6, would you say
that k is
a) Proportional to the length Lo (i.e. doubling Lo doubles k)
b) Inversely proportional to the length Lo (i.e. doubling Lo halves k)
c) Independent of the length Lo (i.e. doubling Lo doesn’t change k)
Check with a TA to make sure you have the right answer here!
Hopefully, you have convinced yourself that k should be proportional
to area (if length is kept fixed) and inversely proportional to length (if
area is kept fixed). This allows us to write an equation
(2) A
Lo
where Y is a constant that does not depend on the length or the area.
This constant is called the Young’s modulus, and is a basic property of
the material that our object is made of. It tells us how stiff that material
is. Substituting the expression for k in (2) into equation (1), we get:
(3)
o
The left side is the force per unit area that we apply. This is
called the STRESS. The ratio ΔL/L0 is fractional change in length of
the object. It is called the STRAIN. So equation (3) says that
stress is proportional to strain, and the Young’s modulus Y is the
proportionality constant.
Question 8: A group of first year engineering students decide to
measure the Young’s modulus of a marshmallow. A picture of their
experiment is below (the liquid is water, and you can ignore the
mass of the cup):
Calculate Y. In your calculations, use SI units of meters, kg, N so that your final
result for Y will be in N/m2. Your result doesn’t need to be really accurate.
Question 9: At a particle accelerator facility, a 16,000 kg detector is to be
installed on top of four aluminum legs, each with cross sectional area
0.001m2. The legs are fabricated at 20oC to a height of 0.10000 m. After the
detector is in place, the scientists adjust the temperature of the legs in order
to compensate for the compression due to the weight of the detector. If they
would like the final height of the legs to be 0.10000 m, what should be the
temperature of the legs?
For aluminum, Y = 7×1010, α = 2.4×10-5
Part b) If the legs need to be kept within the range 0.10000 m ± 0.00005 m,
what range of temperatures are allowable for the aluminum legs?