Spider webs are made of silk. The biomechanics of the sticky capture spiral thread from an orb-weaving spider Araneus diadematus were investigated by Kohler and Vollrath. The table here shows the...

Spider webs are made of silk. The biomechanics of the sticky capture spiral thread from an orb-weaving spider Araneus diadematus were investigated by Kohler and Vollrath. The table here shows the stress and strain values for the ¨ sticky silk thread.

a. Plot a stress versus strain curve for the data shown (note: 1 Pascal = 1 N/m2).

b. Using the linear part of the curve, calculate the Young’s modulus for the spider silk.

c. How does this value compare to that of bone (E = 3 MPa) or structural steel (E = 200 MPa)?

d. Based on your answer in (c), describe how the Young’s modulus is a measure of the stiffness of a material.