Understanding Hooke's Law

Hooke's Law describes the relationship between the force exerted by a spring and its displacement:

* F = -kx

Where:

* F is the force exerted by the spring (in Newtons)

* k is the spring constant (in Newtons per meter, N/m)

* x is the displacement from the spring's equilibrium position (in meters)

Solving for the Spring Constant

1. Convert units: We need the displacement in meters, so 2 mm is equal to 0.002 m.

2. Rearrange the formula: We want to find 'k', so let's rearrange Hooke's Law:

* k = -F/x

3. Substitute values: Plug in the given force (F = 10 N) and displacement (x = 0.002 m)

* k = -10 N / 0.002 m

4. Calculate:

* k = -5000 N/m

Important Note: The negative sign in Hooke's Law indicates that the force exerted by the spring is in the opposite direction to the displacement. In this case, we are only interested in the magnitude of the spring constant, so we can ignore the negative sign.

Therefore, the spring constant is 5000 N/m.