Question

Suppose you wanted to break a meter stick over your knee. The cross-section of a meter stick is rectangular. Will it be easier to break with the long side against your knee or with the short side against your knee? Cross-section of a meter stick : (i.e. looking down the end of a meter stick)

Answer 1

Answer:

It will be easier to break the meter rule with the long side against my knee.

Explanation:

To break the meter rule involves the principle of bending moment. The long side will require less force to generate the same amount of bending moment that will have to be generated to break the meter rule. The short side on the other hand will require more force to generate this mount of bending moment. This is because the shorter has a very small surface area, which concentrates the force on your knee. The pressure is then dissipated as more pressure to your knee. Th longer side has a lesser surface area so, most of the force is used in breaking the meter rule.