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Leaving Cert Engineering: Tensile testing & stress–strain

How often Tensile testing & stress–strain comes up on the Engineering papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 9 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

June 2028 is the first exam on the new Engineering course. These come from the 2016–2025 papers, so read them as a guide.

Tensile testing & stress–strain, Higher Level(9 marks)

Quick ones on Tensile testing & stress–strain.

(a)A specimen of original area 80 mm² reaches a maximum load of 48 kN. What is its UTS?
  1. 60 N/mm²
  2. 600 N/mm²
  3. 6000 N/mm²
(b)A 50 mm gauge length extends by 0.1 mm under load. What is the strain?
  1. 500
  2. 0.02
  3. 0.002
(c)A strain column is labelled ×1000. In the elastic region 0.60 is read at 60 N/mm². Young's modulus?
  1. 100 000 N/mm²
  2. 1 000 000 N/mm²
  3. 100 N/mm²
Show the answers

(a) 600 N/mm²

(b) 0.002

(c) 100 000 N/mm²

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Tensile testing & stress–strain.

Higher Level

Asked on 9 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q3
2024Q3
2023Q3
2022Q3
2021Q3
2019Q2
2018Q2
2017Q2
2016Q2

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Tensile testing & stress–strain questions

Tensile testing & stress–strain, 3 marks

Original area 80 mm², area at the fracture 36 mm². Percentage reduction in area?

  1. 45%
  2. 44%
  3. 55%
Show the answer

55%

Reduction in area = (80 - 36) ÷ 80 × 100 = 44 ÷ 80 × 100 = 55%. A large reduction in area shows a ductile material that necked well.

Tensile testing & stress–strain, 2 marks

On a stress–strain graph, a brittle material such as grey cast iron shows?

  1. A clear yield point followed by necking
  2. Little or no plastic strain before fracture
  3. A long plastic region
Show the answer

Little or no plastic strain before fracture

Brittle materials break soon after the elastic range, with almost no permanent stretch and no necking. That is why they fail without warning.

Tensile testing & stress–strain, 3 marks

A 10 mm diameter bar breaks after a maximum load of 31.4 kN. UTS?

  1. About 400 N/mm²
  2. About 100 N/mm²
  3. About 314 N/mm²
Show the answer

About 400 N/mm²

Area = π × 5² = 78.54 mm². UTS = 31 400 ÷ 78.54 ≈ 400 N/mm². Using the diameter instead of the radius, or leaving out π, gives the wrong answers.

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