What are the three types of stress that develop in a structure in response to an applied load?

What are the three types of stress that develop in a structure in response to an applied load?

• A. Tension, Bending, Shear
• B. Tension, Compression, Shear
• C. Compression, Torsion, Shear
• D. Tension, Compression, Torsion

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that stress in a structure comes in three basic categories: normal stresses and shear stress. Normal stresses act perpendicular to a cross-section and show up as either tension (pulling apart) or compression (pushing together). Shear stress acts parallel to the cross-section and arises when layers slide past each other under a tangential load. Torsion is a loading condition that creates shear on the cross-section, not a separate type of stress by itself. Therefore, the three fundamental stress types you’re looking for are tension, compression, and shear. Options listing torsion as its own stress type aren’t capturing the standard classification, and ones that omit either tension or compression miss the normal-stress family.

The key idea is that stress in a structure comes in three basic categories: normal stresses and shear stress. Normal stresses act perpendicular to a cross-section and show up as either tension (pulling apart) or compression (pushing together). Shear stress acts parallel to the cross-section and arises when layers slide past each other under a tangential load. Torsion is a loading condition that creates shear on the cross-section, not a separate type of stress by itself. Therefore, the three fundamental stress types you’re looking for are tension, compression, and shear. Options listing torsion as its own stress type aren’t capturing the standard classification, and ones that omit either tension or compression miss the normal-stress family.