A vertical concrete column in a multi-storey building supports the floors above it. What is the primary internal force acting along the column's length?

Tension Shear Compression Torsion

The main cable of a suspension bridge runs from one anchor block, over the tops of tall towers, to the opposite anchor block. What internal force does this cable primarily experience?

Compression Torsion Shear Tension

Two steel plates are bolted together and a force pulls the plates apart in opposite directions (trying to slide one plate across the other). What internal force is the bolt primarily resisting?

Compression Tension Shear Torsion

A car's drive shaft transmits the rotational force (torque) from the gearbox to the rear wheels. What internal force does the drive shaft primarily experience?

Tension Compression Shear Torsion

Which of the following best describes what happens to material fibres when a structural element is under tension?

The fibres are squeezed together and the material shortens The fibres are pulled apart and the material stretches or elongates The fibres slide past each other across the cross-section The fibres rotate around the member's long axis

A slender steel column is 6 m tall and carries a heavy axial compressive load. An engineer is worried about buckling. Which modification would most effectively reduce the risk of buckling?

Painting the column to protect it from corrosion Increasing the load so the column is more firmly compressed Adding lateral bracing at the column's mid-height to reduce its effective length Rotating the column 90° so it is horizontal

What is 'necking' in the context of a steel bar under tension?

The torsional twisting of a bar under eccentric load A local reduction in cross-sectional area that occurs just before the bar fractures The bending of a beam at its mid-span The shear failure of a weld between two plates

A Roman stone arch spans a 20 m river. What is the primary internal force in the arch stones (voussoirs)?

Tension Shear Compression Torsion

A weld joining two steel beams side-by-side is subjected to a horizontal force trying to slide one beam across the other. What type of stress does the weld resist?

Torsion Compression Tension Shear

An engineer comparing two columns of the same material and cross-section: Column A is 2 m tall, Column B is 8 m tall. Both carry the same axial compressive load. Which is more susceptible to buckling?

Column A, because shorter columns carry more stress per unit length Both columns are equally susceptible since they have the same cross-section Column B, because buckling load decreases with the square of the length Buckling depends only on the material, not the length

A steel rope ties a ship to a dock cleat. The ship pulls on the rope with 50 000 N. What type of internal force acts along the rope, and why can the rope carry this load but not a compressive one?

Shear; ropes resist the sliding between the ship and the dock Compression; the rope is being squeezed between ship and cleat Torsion; the rope twists as the ship rocks Tension; ropes can only pull because their fibres align and carry load, but they buckle instantly under compression

Which structural member in a building is most likely to experience torsion as its primary design concern?

A central column supporting equal loads on all sides A floor slab loaded uniformly from above A suspension bridge main cable loaded by hangers below A spandrel beam that supports a floor on one side only, causing an eccentric load that twists it