Question

At a point there are ______ shear stresses.

(a) 2

(b) 4

(c) 6

(d) 8

I got this question in my homework.

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

Answer 1

Right answer is (c) 6

Explanation: At a point, there are six shear stresses. The shear stresses in the stress tensor are represented by τ. The six shear stresses are τXY, τYX; τYZ, τZY; τZX, τXZ. The first letter of the subscript represents the direction of stress acting on the face of element perpendicular to that axis. The second letter of the subscript represents the direction of stress along which it acts.