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What does the source define as tensile strength?
AThe speed at which cracks travel through a material
BThe mass an object can support before it starts to move
CThe breaking stress causing permanent deformation or fracture
DThe coefficient of kinetic friction of a stretched material
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. The breaking stress causing permanent deformation or fracture
1. The source defines tensile strength in the context of Hooke's law and the elastic region.
2. Tensile strength is the breaking stress that will cause permanent deformation or fracture of a material.
3. This is a stress value tied to breaking, not a mass, a crack speed, or a friction coefficient, which are unrelated quantities.
4. Beyond this stress, a material no longer springs back to its original shape once the force is removed.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 5 "Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity", section 5.3 Elasticity: Stress and Strain_
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