Suppose an Object Is Hanging from the End of a Spring

Multiple Choice

Suppose an object is hanging from the end of a spring. Let the spring's length when the object is hanging at rest be L. Now suppose we pull the object downward until the spring has been stretched a length of $2 \mathrm{~L}$ . By what factor has the force that the spring is exerting on the object increased?

A) The spring force is the same in both cases.
B) $\sqrt{2}$ times stronger
C) 2 times stronger
D) 4 times stronger
E) The answer depends on the spring's relaxed length.