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Difficulty: MediumMaterial Properties

A structural material that possesses exceptionally high compressive strength will inherently exhibit an equally high tensile strength when subjected to pulling forces.

Answer: Answer

Answer

False
The statement is false because the ability of a material to withstand being crushed (compressive strength) does not guarantee its ability to withstand being stretched (tensile strength). Concrete and cast iron are classic examples of materials that are extremely strong in compression but weak in tension.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define the terms compressive strength and tensile strength in the context of structural materials.
Compressive strength is a material's resistance to being crushed or pushed together, while tensile strength is its resistance to being stretched or pulled apart.
Clarifying the specific definitions of these forces is necessary to evaluate how materials respond to them.
2
Evaluate the claim that high performance in compression guarantees equally high performance in tension.
Determine that the claim is false by recalling common real-world structural materials that behave asymmetrically.
Identifying valid counterexamples, such as concrete (which requires steel rebar specifically to compensate for its poor tensile strength), proves that the two properties are not inherently linked.

Key Concept

Compressive vs. Tensile Strength
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Topics

Material Properties

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