Answer to Question #146564 in Physics for Marie

Question

A piece of steel plate is of 1.22 x 1.22 meters in dimension and 20 mm thick. The plate is rigidly
supported to its lower end so as to position vertically. Stress is applied to the upper end uniformly and
it was observed to deformed at 0.05 mm. Find the strain of the material.

Answer 1

The strain is a value that shows how the metal deforms under a certain load compared to its initial state:

$$\sigma=\frac{\Delta h}{h}\cdot100\%=\frac{0.05}{1220}\cdot100\%=0.0041.$$