Hooke's Law
The law stating that the stress of a solid is directly proportional to the strain applied to it
Modulus of Elasticity
The ratio of the increment of some specified form of stress to the increment of some specified form of strain, such as Young's modulus, the bulk modulus, or the shear modulus. Also known as coefficient of elasticity, elasticity modulus, elastic modulus
Nondestructive Testing
Test methods used to examine an object, material, or system without impairing its future usefulness
Problem Solving
The ability to get answers to questions through a conscious, organized process. The answers are usually, but not necessarily, quantitative
Proportional Limit
Point at which the deformation is no longer directly proportional to the applied force. Hooke's Law no longer applies
Quality Control
Operational techniques necessary to satisfy all quality requirements; includes process monitoring and the elimination of root causes of unsatisfactory product or service quality performance
Reliability
The probability that a component part, equipment, or system will satisfactorily perform its intended function under given circumstances, such as environmental conditions, limitations as to operating time, and frequency and thoroughness of maintenance for a specified period of time
Resilience
A mechanical property of a material that shows how effective the material is absorbing mechanical energy without sustaining any permanent damage
Rupture Strength
Nominal stress developed in a material at rupture. Not necessarily equal to ultimate strength. Since necking is not taken into account in determining rupture strength, seldom indicates true stress at rupture
Shear Stress
A measure of how easily a material can be twisted
Standard Deviation
A statistical measurement of variability
Statistics
The collection and analysis of numerical data in large quantities
Strain
Change in the length of an object in some direction per unit
Stress
The force acting across a unit area in a solid material resisting the separation, compacting, or sliding that tends to be induced by external forces
Stress-Strain Curve
Graphical representation of a material's mechanical properties
Tension
The condition of a string, wire, or rod that is stretched between two points
Toughness
Mechanical property of a material that indicates the ability of the material to handle overloading before it fractures
Ultimate Stress
Sometimes referred to as tensile strength; determined by measuring the maximum load a material specimen can carry when in the shape of a rectangular bar or cylindrical can
Variance
The average of the squared differences from the mean
Accuracy
A description of how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity measured.
Bar Chart
Categorical data graph.
Bayes' Theorem
The probability of an event occurring based upon other event probabilities.
Data
Numbers or information describing some characteristic.
Data Variation
Measure of data scatter.
Deviation
Amount of difference between a value and the mean.
Experiment
An activity with observable results.
Event
A subset of a sample space.
Frequency Distribution
A summary chart, showing how frequently each of the various scores in a set of data occurs
Histogram
Frequency distribution graph.
Mean
Arithmetic average.
Mean Deviation
Measure of variation equal to the sum of the deviations of each value from the mean.
Median
Middle value of a set of values arranged in order of magnitude.
Mode
The value that occurs most frequently.
Normal Distribution
Bell-shaped probability distribution.
Outcome
The result of an experiment.
Pie Chart
A form of graph which represents percentage values as segments of a circle.
Probability
The calculated likelihood that a given event will occur.
Process Control
To monitor and control a process so that the quality of the output/product improves.
Qualitative Data
Values that possess names or labels.
Quantitative Data
Values that represent a measurable quantity.
Quality Assurance
The use of quality control techniques associated with a process.
Reliability
The probability of satisfactory operation of the product in a given environment over a specified time interval.
Sample Space
A set of all possible outcomes or events in an experiment that cannot be further broken down.
Standard Deviation
The square root of the variance.
Statistics
The collection, evaluation, and interpretation of data.
Statistical Process Control
SPC is a method of monitoring, controlling, and ideally improving a process through statistical analysis. Its four basic steps include measuring the process, eliminating variances in the process to make it consistent, monitoring the process, and improving the process to its best target value.
Tolerance
The difference between the maximum and minimum dimensions allowed within the design of a product.
Variance
The difference between samples.
Universal System Model
A flowchart style diagram that can be used to break down any system, natural, social, or technological, into it's different parts.