What is the difference between tensile strength and yield strength?

The difference between tensile strength and yield strength lies in the definitions and implications for material behavior under stress. Tensile strength refers to the maximum amount of tensile (pulling) stress that a material can withstand before failure, which is often associated with the very end of the material's strength range, where it might experience necking and ultimately break. Yield strength, on the other hand, is the amount of stress at which a material begins to deform plastically, meaning it will no longer return to its original shape if the stress is removed.

Option C accurately highlights that tensile strength is a measure of a material's stretching capacity until it fails, while yield strength is focused on the point at which the material starts to change shape permanently without immediate fracture. This distinction is crucial for engineers and designers as it helps them understand how materials will behave under different loads and conditions.

In contrast, other choices do not correctly express the relationship between the two types of strengths. For instance, while it's often true that tensile strength is greater than yield strength, this does not define their differences. Yield strength is not the point of material breakage; rather, it indicates a change in behavior, and tensile strength is not directly related to temperature, making those options misleading. Understanding these definitions