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### College Physics (Urone)

Book edition 1st Edition
Author(s) Paul Peter Urone
Pages 1272 pages
ISBN 9781938168000

# Some people modify cars to be much closer to the ground than when manufactured. Should they install stiffer springs? Explain your answer.

No, stiffer springs should not be installed in the cars because it will not help the car to be closer to the ground.

See the step by step solution

## Step 1: Relation between restoring force and stiffness

The restoring force on the spring in a periodic motion is directly proportional to the spring constant and displacement. It is expressed as follows,

${\bf{F = - kx}}$

Here, K is the spring constant, and x is the displacement.

The more the spring force is, the more the restoring force as restoring force is directly proportional to the spring constant.

## Step 2: Modification of car to make it closer to the ground

If you install stiffer springs in the car, it will result in an increased restoring force. As a result of higher restoring force, the car will stay away from the ground instead of being closed.

Thus, while modifying cars to be closer to the ground; stiffer springs should not be installed.