Ductility is defined as which of the following?

Ductility is defined as which of the following?

• A. The measure of the capacity of a metal to be stretched or drawn by a pulling or tensile force without fracturing.
• B. The measure of the capacity of a metal to be extended in all directions by a compressive force.
• C. The ability to resist changes in temperature.
• D. The property of a material to return to original shape.

Answer: (A)

Ductility is the ability of a metal to undergo plastic deformation under tensile (pulling) stress without breaking, meaning it can be stretched or drawn into a wire. This quality is what lets metals like copper, aluminum, and many steels be drawn into thin wires and elongated significantly before they fracture. In practical tests, ductility is shown by how much a specimen elongates under a standard tensile load, sometimes reported as percent elongation. It’s different from elasticity (which is about returning to the original shape after the load is removed) and from brittleness (where a material fractures with little to no plastic deformation). It’s also not about resisting temperature changes or compressive deformation, which is why the stretching-under-tension description best defines ductility.

Ductility is the ability of a metal to undergo plastic deformation under tensile (pulling) stress without breaking, meaning it can be stretched or drawn into a wire. This quality is what lets metals like copper, aluminum, and many steels be drawn into thin wires and elongated significantly before they fracture. In practical tests, ductility is shown by how much a specimen elongates under a standard tensile load, sometimes reported as percent elongation. It’s different from elasticity (which is about returning to the original shape after the load is removed) and from brittleness (where a material fractures with little to no plastic deformation). It’s also not about resisting temperature changes or compressive deformation, which is why the stretching-under-tension description best defines ductility.