Properties of Matter Topic

Hooke's Law

Concept 3 demos

Side-by-side comparison of the Hooke's Law setup: left panel shows unloaded springs hanging from a horizontal rod with a meter stick and Ohaus mass set below; right panel shows the same springs loaded with brass masses at varying extensions

Hooke's Law

Verifies Hooke's Law by hanging masses from springs and measuring extension. Comparing springs with different spring constants shows that is a property of the specific spring, and the linear force-displacement …

Large helical spring hanging vertically from a rod on a laboratory stand, with a wooden meterstick alongside and black cylindrical masses suspended from the bottom

Stiff Springs

A spring with a very large spring constant demonstrates what "stiff" means quantitatively. Three kilograms stretches it only about an inch, and it cannot be fully compressed by hand — …

Stand with three spring configurations loaded with identical brass masses: two pink springs in series (left), single pink spring (center), two dark red springs in parallel (right), with meter stick for measuring displacement

Series and Parallel Springs

Hang identical masses from single, series, and parallel spring configurations to show how effective spring constants combine. Students see that series springs stretch more and parallel springs stretch less than …

Tensile and Compressive Stress

Concept 1 demo

Top: lecture hall view showing laser on bench aimed at Young's modulus frame standing about 2 meters away, with blackboard behind for marking laser spot positions. Bottom: close-up of the optical lever apparatus showing mirror, collets for clamping wire, and mass hanger hook.

Young Modulus and the Elastic Limit

Progressively load an iron wire with masses to demonstrate elastic deformation, the yield point, and permanent plastic deformation. An optical lever amplifies the small wire elongations so the entire class …

Coefficient of Restitution

Concept 1 demo

Two identical-looking black rubber balls beside a yellow "Bounce-No-Bounce" container

Bouncing and Non-Bouncing Balls

Two identical-looking rubber balls have dramatically different bounce behavior: the "happy" ball rebounds to nearly its drop height while the "sad" ball barely bounces. A foam surface reversal shows that …

Crystal Structure

Concept 2 demos

Five transparent folding cube models on green surface with styrofoam sphere sections inside: red-and-white BCC (partially folded), green-and-white FCC (cubic), yellow-and-white NaCl, all-white diamond, and a second white model folded flat

Folding Cube Crystal Models

Transparent, foldable cube models with embedded styrofoam sphere sections illustrate BCC, FCC, NaCl, and diamond crystal structures. Fold the models to show different cross-sections -- every configuration represents a valid …

Two ball-and-stick crystal models with black and tan spheres connected by metal rods; left model has yellow-highlighted bonds showing tetrahedral coordination, right model shows a layered structure

Crystal Models

A collection of Leybold/Klinger ball-and-stick crystal models representing specific materials (graphite, diamond, dry ice, table salt, and others) as well as generic crystal arrangements (SC, BCC, FCC). Use to visualize …