Which statement describes Hooke's law?

• A. An object's extension is proportional to its load, provided the limit of proportionality is not exceeded.
• B. The rate of evaporation increases with temperature.
• C. Pressure is inversely proportional to volume at constant temperature.
• D. Work done equals force times distance.

Answer: (A)

Hooke's law says that the extension of a spring is proportional to the force applied to it, as long as the material remains elastic. In other words, F = kx, where F is the force (load) and x is the extension, and k is the spring constant that measures stiffness. This means that if you double the force, the extension doubles, up to the elastic limit. The statement matches this idea by saying the extension is proportional to the load and that this proportionality holds only until you reach the limit of proportionality. Beyond that limit, the relationship stops being linear and the spring may deform permanently.

The other options describe different ideas: evaporation rate increasing with temperature, a gas law relating pressure and volume at constant temperature, and the work done being force times distance. None of these capture the proportional relationship between force and extension that Hooke's law describes.