ConcepTest: Pencil Bend

ConcepTest questions by David McConnell, David Steer , Walter Borowski, Jeffrey Dick, Annabelle Foos, Jeffrey Knott, Alvin Konigsberg, Michelle Malone, Heidi McGrew, Kathie Owens, and Stephen Van Horn
This material was originally created for Starting Point:Introductory Geology
and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.

Question:

A pencil will bend if you push down on both ends and push up in the middle. If you stop pushing, the pencil will return to its original shape. The bending is an example of ___________ behavior.

a) elastic
b) brittle
c) ductile
d) viscous

Student Responses:

No data yet. The correct response is A.

If you would like to help acquire more Before and After statistics for this example, please contact the authors (see link at top of page).

References and Notes: