Question

Dimensionally a body force is defined as _____________

(a) force at a point

(b) pressure per unit area

(c) force per unit area

(d) force per unit volume

This question was posed to me by my school teacher while I was bunking the class.

This intriguing question comes from Elasticity topic in portion Elements of Elasticity of Geotechnical Engineering I

Answer 1

The correct choice is (d) force per unit volume

The best explanation: Body forces are the forces distributed over the entire volume of a body. Such forces are gravitational forces, inertia forces, magnetic forces and seepage forces, etc. Dimensionally a body force is defined as force per unit volume.