Compressive stress

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/compressive-stress

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the physical state?A state of stress that tends to reduce volume
2. What is the failure mechanism?Can lead to crushing or, in slender elements, buckling
3. Why does compressive stress make things shorter?Because the force pushes the particles inside the material together, so the material gets a bit shorter in the direction of the force.
4. How do engineers use compressive stress?Engineers calculate compressive stress to design safe columns, foundations, and bridges so they don't crush or buckle under heavy loads.

Compressive Stress: The internal resistance of a material to deformation caused by external forces pushing inward.
Cross-sectional Area: The area of a plane intersecting an object perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.
Compressive Strength: The maximum compressive stress a material can withstand before undergoing permanent deformation or fracture.
Buckling: A sudden, large lateral deformation of a slender structural member subjected to compressive axial load.