Physics (AS & A Level) · Oct / Nov 2017 · Paper 12 · Question 21

A rectangular block of steel supporting a very large component of a bridge has a height of 15 cm and a cross-section of 20 cm × 12 cm. It is designed to compress 1 mm when under maximum, evenly distributed, load. The Young modulus of steel is $2.0 \times 10^{11}\,\text{N}\,\text{m}^{-2}$. What is the maximum load it can support?

1. A32 MN
2. B56 GN
3. C720 GN
4. D32 TN

As printed in the paper