Mechanical Properties of Solids
Chapter 8 of the Class 11 Physics NCERT textbook, "Mechanical Properties of Solids", covers stress, strain, elasticity, and Hooke's law—how materials deform under force and regain shape. Understanding these properties is essential for engineering design of buildings, bridges, and structural elements.
- 1Elasticity is the property by which bodies regain original shape/size when external force is removed; plasticity is permanent deformation
- 2Stress = F/A (force per unit area, SI unit Pa); Strain = ΔL/L (dimensionless ratio of dimension change)
- 3Hooke's law: stress = k × strain (valid for small deformations within elastic limit); three types—longitudinal, shearing, hydraulic
- 4Young's modulus Y = (F/A)/(ΔL/L); metals have large Y values (steel > copper > aluminium); shear modulus G ≈ Y/3
- 5Bulk modulus B relates pressure to volume change; solids least compressible, gases ~1 million times more compressible

