Neco 2017 Physics Question 2

A student investigates the elastic behaviour of a spring using a force sensor attached to a cart of mass 0.50 kg that moves on a frictionless horizontal track. The spring is fixed at one end, and the cart is attached to the free end. The student records the force exerted by the spring for various extensions as shown in the table. Extension (m) | Force (N) 0.00 | 0.0 0.02 | 1.2 0.04 | 2.4 0.06 | 3.6 0.08 | 4.8 The student is required to: (a) Determine the spring constant (k) from the data. (b) Calculate the work done in stretching the spring from its natural length to an extension of 0.20 m. (c) Explain why the work calculated in part (b) is a scalar quantity even though the force is a vector.