Strain is like when you try to stretch a rubber band really far. If you pull too hard, it might snap or get tired. The rubber band feels stress because it’s being pulled more than it likes. Sometimes, when people talk about strain, they’re talking about how something is being stretched or pulled too much, like a rubber band.
Imagine your favorite teddy bear. If you hug it too tightly, it might start to feel a little squished. That’s another way to think about strain. It’s when something feels like it’s being squeezed or pushed too hard. Your teddy bear might not mind a gentle hug, but a super tight one could make it feel strained.
Think about a big stack of blocks. If you keep adding more blocks on top, the ones at the bottom start to feel a lot of pressure. They have to hold up all the weight from the blocks above. This pressure is a kind of strain. It’s like they’re saying, “Hey, this is getting heavy!” Strain is what happens when something has to work extra hard to hold everything together.