To determine how far a spring would stretch when a force is applied, you can use Hooke's Law, which states that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional to the displacement from its equilibrium position. Mathematically, Hooke's Law is expressed as:
F = -kx
where F is the force applied to the spring, k is the spring constant, and x is the displacement from the equilibrium position.
In your case, you have a force of 10 N and a spring constant (k value) of 2 N/m. By rearranging Hooke's Law, we can solve for x:
x = -F/k
Substituting the given values:
x = -10 N / 2 N/m
x = -5 m
The negative sign indicates that the spring is stretched in the opposite direction of the applied force. Therefore, the spring would stretch by 5 meters.