EMS430U Practice Exam Questions (Weeks 1-5 part)

Multiple Correct Answers (Questions 1-10)

Question 1

Consider a polycrystalline metal with multiple grains oriented in all possible directions. Which of the
following statements are true?

1. The metal exhibits mechanical isotropy

2. The grain boundaries can be sites of high chemical reactivity
3. The metal exhibits mechanical anisotropy
4. Yield strength of the metal will go up if grain size decreases
5. Yield strength of the metal will go down as grain size decreases
6. The grain boundaries can be sites of low chemical reactivity

Question 2

Consider a crystalline lattice and the planes (113) and (102). If the lattice dimensions are a, b, and c
in the x-, y and z directions respectively, what are possible values for the x- and z-intercepts of these
two planes, respectively?

1. (3a, c), (2a,c)

2. (a, 3c), (2a, c)
3. (6a, 2c), (4a,2c)
4. (a,2c), (4a, 2c)
5. (a, c), (2a, 4c)

Question 3

Considering dislocations in general, which of the following are true:

1. Dislocations introduce lattice distortion which decreases as one goes further from the
dislocation
2. Close packed directions are the hardest directions for dislocation slip
3. Dislocations are either pure screw or pure edge types
4. Dislocations lead to permanent plastic deformation in metals
5. Close packed directions are the easiest directions for dislocation slip

Question 4

When a metal is cold-worked, the following phenomena occur:

1. It gets progressively easier to add dislocations to the material

2. Dislocation density increases
3. The cross-sectional area of the metal is reduced in many cases
4. Yield strength increases
5. Ductility increases.
6. It gets progressively harder to add dislocations to the material
because the dislocations get entangled and cannot move!
Question 5

Which of the following statements are true?

1. The major contribution to thermal heat transfer in ceramics comes from atomic vibrations
(phonons)
2. As the crystalline perfection of a metal increases, its thermal conductivity will likely increase
3. The energy of atomic vibrations increases with increasing temperature
4. For a given crystalline sample, the wavelength of phonons can be arbitrarily large or small

Question 6

For forming processes in metals, which of the following are true?

1. Extrusion is a forming process suited for ductile metals

2. Usually involves the change of shape or aspect ratio of a metal by the application of force
3. Requires melting of the metal precursor as a first step
4. Involves compacting an aggregate of fine metal powder grains
5. May involve a 2-step casting process with an initial prototype used to shape the mould

Question 7

For ceramic structures, at the atomic level which of the following statements are true?

1. Slippage along slip planes provides the mechanism for plastic deformation
2. As cation / anion radius ratio increased, coordination number increases
3. Anions are usually larger than cations
4. Cations are usually larger than anions

Question 8

Silica (SiO2) has the following characteristics:

1. Covalent bonding
2. Ionic bonding
3. High melting temperature
4. Is commonly used for heat-resistant glass
5. Is commonly used as a bonded abrasive in grinding wheels

Question 9

Consider two stress vs strain curves A and B. A shows a steep slope in the linear region to ~0.2%
after which it stops. B shows a much lower slope (~1/100th of A) initially, and after ~5% the slope
reduces to near-zero and the material extends to 30-40%. Which of the following statements are
true?

1. A is a ceramic, B is a polymer
2. A is a metal, B is a polymer
 3. A is a polymer, B is a ceramic
4. B is a metal, A is a ceramic
5. The deformation of A shows elastic and inelastic regions
6. The deformation of A shows elastic deformation only
7. The deformation of B shows elastic and inelastic regions

Question 10

Which of the following statements are true for material hardness?

1. Hardness tests lead to breakage of the whole sample

2. Hardness is a measure of the wear resistance of a material
3. Hardness is positively correlated with strength
4. Hardness is negatively correlated with strength
5. The deformation remaining after a hardness test is plastic deformation

Single Correct Answer (Questions 11-20)

Question 11

Consider one bcc and one fcc metal crystal structures A and B respectively. What is the ratio of the
atomic packing factors APF A/APF B?

1. 0.92
2. 1.21
3. 0.88
4. 1.00
5. 1.02

Question 12

In an orthorhombic system, consider the following pairs of crystallographic planes. Which pair
consists of two mutually perpendicular planes?

1. (100), (11̅0)
2. (001), (11̅1)
3. (100), (01̅0)
4. (111), (11̅1)

Question 13

Consider a fcc and bcc lattice with same cube side length 2.0 Å. What is the ratio of the linear
densities along the close packed directions of the fcc and bcc lattices (LD fcc/LD bcc):

1. 0.80
2. 0.98
3. 1.13
4. 1.31
5. 1.22
Question 14

Consider two polycrystalline samples A and B of the same metal element which have different grain
sizes. Sample A has an average grain size 100 m and a yield stress of 120 MPa. Sample B has an
average grain size of 25 m. Using the Hall-Petch law, and assuming 0 = 100 MPa, what is the yield
stress of sample B?

1. 110 MPa
2. 135 MPa
3. 150 MPa
4. 140 MPa
5. 125 MPa

Question 15

The vacancy concentration for a metal A with an activation energy Q is 210-5. If the activation
energy is doubled, what will the new vacancy concentration be?

1. 2.010-5
e^Ea, so if you double Ea you're squaring the vacancy
2. 3.210-8
conc
3. 4.010-10
4. 4.010-2

Question 16

A metal rod has an initial length L(cm) and a thermal expansion coefficient of 12 x 10-6 /K. It is heated
from 45 C to 95 C, and its final length is 12.0072 cm. What is the initial length L?

1. 11.9 cm
2. 12.1 cm
3. 12.0 cm
4. 11.8 cm

Question 17

Consider a binary alloy phase diagram of the Ni-Cu type shown in the lecture notes. The left-hand side
denotes the liquid phase L, and the right-hand side the fcc solid solution . The intermediate region is
a coexistence regime with both L and  phases. Now consider two points B (37 wt%) and B1 (34.5
wt%) in the coexistence region, as shown below. What would be the weight % of the L phase at B and
B1 respectively?
 1. 75%, 50%
2. 50%, 25%
3. 50%, 75%
4. 25%, 75%

Question 18

In a polymer-ceramic composite, the weight fraction of the polymer is 0.20. The ceramic is two times
as dense as the polymer. What is the volume percentage of the ceramic?

1. 50%
2. 66%
3. 75%
4. 25%

Question 19

In ceramic sintering:

1. A powder compact is heated at high temperature, below the melting point, leading to a solid
2. A fluid precursor is pressed into a mould and pressurized air used to form the shape
3. Addition of water leads to the formation of a paste which hardens
4. A powder compact is heated at high temperature, above the melting point and then cooled
to form a solid

Question 20

When a metal is heated after cold working:

1. Number of dislocations increase

2. Number of dislocations decrease
3. Grains with high dislocation density are created
4. Over long-time scales, the grain size decreases