Question:medium

What is the dimensional formula of strain?

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Strain is a ratio of two lengths, so think about what happens to the units when you divide length by length.
Updated On: Jul 16, 2026
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Solution and Explanation

The correct answer is that strain is dimensionless.

  • Strain is always a ratio of two similar quantities, such as change in length to original length, change in volume to original volume, or change in shape angle to the original configuration.
  • Whenever a physical quantity is defined as the ratio of two quantities having the same dimensions, the dimensions cancel out and the result carries no dimensions.
  • This is the same reason relative density and refractive index are also dimensionless, they too are ratios of similar quantities.
  • So strain has no unit like metre or second attached to it, it is just a pure number describing how much a body has deformed relative to its original size.
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