Final answer:
Damien should use a stress-strain curve to study the effects on a material's elasticity after being submerged in water for varying durations. This graphical tool will allow him to visualize the relationship between stress and resulting strain, showing changes in the material's behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Damien can study how material behaves when immersed by using a stress-strain curve. This type of graphical tool is useful when investigating the effects on a material's elasticity, like changes in length, volume, or shape, due to different conditions like being submerged in water. The stress-strain diagram gives a visual representation of the relationship between the applied force (stress) and the resulting deformation (strain) of the material. To construct the curve, Damien would measure the strain corresponding to different durations of submersion and plot these values against the stress applied to the material.
The stress-strain diagram will show him whether the material behaves elastically, meaning it returns to its original shape after the stress is removed, or if it reaches an elastic limit and becomes permanently deformed. This is the principle behind Hooke's Law, which states that within the elastic limit of a solid, the strain is directly proportional to the applied stress. By analyzing the slope of the initial, linear portion of the stress-strain curve, Damien can also determine the material's Young's modulus, a measure of its stiffness.
Understanding the elastic modulus and the elastic limit will help Damien assess changes in the material's elasticity. These parameters are critical as a high elastic modulus indicates materials that are difficult to deform, like steel, while a low elastic modulus suggests easy deformation, such as with rubber bands. Therefore, the stress-strain curve is a crucial graphical tool for Damien's study.