If given the load and area of an object, how do we find the stress?

To find the stress on an object, you use the formula that defines stress as the force applied per unit area. In this case, the load represents the force acting on the object, and the area is the cross-sectional area over which that force is distributed. The correct approach is to divide the load by the area.

This means that stress is calculated by taking the total load (or force) and dividing it by the area over which that load is applied. This gives you a value expressed in units such as pascals (Pa) or pounds per square inch (psi), which indicates how much force the material is experiencing per unit of area.

Understanding this relationship is crucial in engineering because it helps determine whether a material can handle the stresses applied to it without failing. The other methods mentioned—dividing area by load, multiplying load by area, or adding load to area—do not yield the correct measurement of stress according to its definition.