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A steel wire can support a maximum load of w before reaching its elastic limit. how much load can another wire, made out of identical steel, but with a radius one half the radius of the first wire, support before reaching its elastic limit.?solution

a. W
b. W/2
c. W/4
d. 4W

User AllenSH
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

A second steel wire, identical in material but with half the radius of the first, can support one fourth of the load W before reaching its elastic limit, which is W/4. The correct answer is option c) W/4.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student asks how much load a steel wire with half the radius of another wire, made of identical steel, can support before reaching its elastic limit.

The tensile strength of a wire (which determines the maximum load before reaching the elastic limit) is directly proportional to the cross-sectional area of the wire.

The cross-sectional area of a wire is proportional to the square of the radius (r^2).

Therefore, if the second wire has half the radius of the first wire, its radius is (1/2)r, and its cross-sectional area will be (1/2)^2 times that of the first wire, which is 1/4th.

Hence, the second wire can support a maximum load of W/4 before reaching its elastic limit.

User Sahil Khanna
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