The ability to not break when a force is applied suddenly is known as which property?

• A. Strength
• B. Toughness
• C. Ductility
• D. Hardness

Answer: (B)

Toughness is the property that describes a material's ability to absorb energy and resist breaking when a force is applied suddenly. It reflects how much energy the material can take before it fracture, which means a tougher material can withstand impact or impact-like loads without snapping. This often comes from a balance of strength (how much stress it can withstand) and ductility (how much it can deform plastically). If a material is very strong but brittle, it may fail quickly under a sudden hit, showing low toughness. Ductility helps with toughness, but by itself it doesn’t guarantee resistance to sudden fracture. Hardness relates to surface resistance to indentation and doesn’t directly indicate how the material behaves under a sudden load.