8 Pre-Lab Questions
Please answer the following questions before coming to the lab, and bring your answers with you to the lab.
- What is the general equation for a straight line?
- The function
where 
and 
are both constants is what we call an exponential function. You can write this function as 
so that it satisfies the equation for a straight line. If you were to plot 
versus 
, what would the slope and y-intercept of this plot be?
- If the relative error of
is 1% and of 
is 0.5%, what is the error of 
? Please show your work. We want to see a general equation for as well as your numerical answer (see reference material for help with this question).
- What is the expression for potential energy stored in a spring?
- How is the spring in a laboratory environment different from an ideal spring? Explain.