Question

Breaking stress is ______ for a material, but breaking force ____ and depends on _____________.

• A. fixed
• B. varies, area of cross-section

Answer 1

1. Breaking stress determines how long a single alloy is stretched until it reaches its maximum tensile strength and the amount of metal that can be loaded until structural stability is lost.
2. It is the ratio of breaking force per unit area, $BreakingStress=\frac{BreakingForce}{Area}$
3. It does not depend on any physical dimension only on the nature of the material.
4. Stress is determined to ensure the material is adequate for the job.
5. The breaking force provides the reference or design criteria.

Hence, breaking stress is fixed for material, but breaking force varies and depends on the area of cross-section.