What term describes wood that is rotted and breaks abruptly across the grain?

• A. Brash
• B. Soft
• C. Fibrous
• D. Damp

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how decay changes how wood breaks. When wood rots, its structural bonds weaken and it loses cohesion, so it becomes brittle rather than flexible. That brittleness makes it snap suddenly, and often the fracture runs across the grain rather than along it. The term that captures this specific condition—rotted wood that breaks abruptly across the grain—is brash. It conveys a wood condition where the surface and internal structure have decayed to the point of crumbling and sudden failure, not just moisture or softness. Damp suggests moisture content, soft implies pliability, and fibrous implies intact fiber structure; none of these describe the abrupt, cross-grain break that rotted, brittle wood exhibits.