Australian Dental Council (ADC) Test 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The modulus of elasticity is defined as the relationship between stress and strain, which is a fundamental concept in material science. It quantifies how a material deforms under applied stress, providing insight into its stiffness or rigidity. When a load is applied to a material, stress measures the internal forces acting over a certain area, while strain indicates the deformation that occurs as a result. The modulus of elasticity, specifically the Young's modulus in this context, is calculated by taking the ratio of stress (force per unit area) to strain (deformation per unit length). This relationship allows engineers and scientists to predict how much a material will stretch or compress when subjected to different forces, which is crucial for applications where material behavior under load is critical.

For context on the other options, while the ratio of force to area is related to stress, it does not encompass the concept of strain necessary to define the modulus of elasticity. The measurement of thermal expansion is distinct and pertains to changes in size with temperature changes, rather than mechanical deformation. Lastly, quantifying resistance to bending relates more to flexural strength or modulus, which is separate from the definition of elasticity itself. The relationship between stress and strain is thus central to understanding the behavior of materials under various loading conditions.