What describes the ability of a material to stretch or be drawn into a wire?

• A. Malleability
• B. Ductility
• C. Hardness
• D. Tensile Strength

Answer: (B)

Ductility describes how much a material can be stretched or drawn into a wire under tensile load. It’s about plastic deformation in tension: materials with high ductility, like copper or certain steels, can elongate significantly before breaking, which is why they’re used for wires. This differs from malleability, which is the ability to deform into sheets under compressive forces; hardness, which measures resistance to surface indentation or scratching; and tensile strength, which is the maximum stress a material can withstand before failing—ductility specifically focuses on how much the material can be stretched rather than how strong it is or how it deforms in compression.