What does it mean if a material is described as brittle?

A material described as brittle characteristically fails without undergoing any significant plastic deformation. This means that it breaks or fractures when subjected to stress before it has the chance to stretch or deform in a plastic manner. Brittle materials tend to shatter rather than bend, displaying a clear, defined breaking point that occurs suddenly.

In contrast, other materials, such as ductile materials, can sustain considerable deformation before failure, exhibiting a change in shape without breaking. Therefore, while choices indicating significant deformation, high impact resistance, or the ability to return to original shape may describe other types of materials, they do not align with the fundamental definition of brittleness.

Identifying a material as brittle emphasizes its tendency to fail catastrophically rather than deform, highlighting a critical aspect of material behavior in engineering and design contexts. Understanding this property is vital for selecting materials for specific applications, especially where sudden impacts or loads are a concern.