Question

Tendons. Tendons are strong elastic fibers that attach muscles to bones. To a reasonable approximation, they obey Hooke’s law. In laboratory tests on a particular tendon, it was found that, when a 250-g object was hung from it, the tendon stretched 1.23 cm. (a) Find the force constant of this tendon in N>m. (b) Because of its thickness, the maximum tension this tendon can support without rupturing is 138 N. By how much can the tendon stretch without rupturing, and how much energy is stored in it at that point?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Given

mass of object(m)=250 gm

Stretching(x)=1.23 cm

Suppose force constant to be k

then kx=mg

$k\times 1.23\times 10^{-2}=250\times 10^{-3}\times 9.8$

$k=\frac{9.8\times 100}{4\times 1.23}$

$k=199.18 N/m$

(b)Maximum Tension is 138 N

138=kx

$x=\frac{138}{199.18}=0.692\approx 69.2 cm$

Energy stored$=\frac{kx^2}{2}=\frac{199.18\times (0.692)^2}{2}=47.80 J$