2. Methods

2.1 Equipment List 

1. 6 Decompression springs
2.  10 Weights of 100g mass
3. 3 Weights of 50g mass
4.  1 Retort stand
5. 1 Metre rule
6. 1 50cm ruler
7. 1 Electronic balance
8. 2 Sets of wooden chopsticks

2.2 Diagrams of Experimental set-up

2.3 Procedures

1. Set up the experiment as shown in Figure 3.2.2 with combination 1 with 1 pair of chopsticks at the bottom
2. Use metre rule to measure and record the mass of the weight(s), M in a table.
3. Use electronic balance to measure and record the length of the mass of the weight(s), M in a table.
4. Use metre rule to measure and record the length of the stretched spring(ℓ2) in a table.
5. Calculate the extension(e) of the spring (ℓ1 - ℓo) and fill it up in a table
6. Calculate the weight of the weight, M(10) and fill it up in a table
7. Find the elastic constant using the formula, 𝐾 (elastic constant) = 𝐹 (weight of the weight) ÷ (spring extension).
8. Remove the weight from the bottom of the springs and put different numbers of weight depending on the spring combination.
9. Do 4-8 again to get in total 5 measurements of the elastic constant.
10. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 2
11. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 3
12. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 4
13. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 5
14. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 6
15. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 7
16. Repeat steps 1-10 with combination 8

2.4 Risk Assessment and Management  

Risk	Assessment	Management
There is a chance that the spring may break and drop the weight on someone, possibly hurting the person.	Low	Unlikely and no severe harm. We can make sure that the weight is not too much for the spring to handle.
weights dropping because of improper attachment and dropping on someone.	medium	it is likely for the weights to drop if not secured properly but because it is not too heavy, it is unlikely to cause severe harm. we can make sure that we always hook the weight to the springs properly before experimenting
If the weights and springs are too heavy, the stand may topple over and possibly drop on someone’s leg	Medium	Unlikely but severe. We will have someone to hold down the stand at all times to prevent this from happening
when hanging the weight, the spring may bounce up and throw the weight up and hit someone or the lights, possibly breaking it and scattering shattered glass all over my teammates and me.	Medium	Unlikely but severe. We do our experiment under the table so if it bounces up, it will just hit the table and we will also stay away from the spring after hanging.
Legend	Low	Unlikely and no severe harm
	Medium	Likely but not severe OR Unlikely but severe
	High	Likely and Severe harm

2.5 Data Analysis

1. Fill up the table with results from the experiment
2. Plot a graph with 𝐹 on the y-axis and 𝑥 on the x-axis
3. Find the gradient of the line
4. The gradient of the line is the spring combination's effective elastic constant
5. See how the effective elastic constant changes with the combinations.