Practice question · Estimate
Stone is far stronger in compression than in tension. Roughly how many times stronger, as an order of magnitude?
Estimate on a scale from 1× (equal) (1) to 30× stronger (30).
Hints
- The ratio is large enough to determine what stone can do.
- On the order of ten times.
Show the answer
10 (answers within ±5 count)
Why
On the order of ten times, varying by stone. That single ratio explains the Greek temple: a stone lintel is loaded in bending, which puts its underside in tension, so it fails at a modest span, and the columns must therefore be close together.
Practise Architecture I: Structure and What It Permits
The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Art History I is free to start.
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