🔍 Key Concepts

• Annealing as a heat treatment process • Difference between hardness, toughness, and strength • What happens to metal properties when it is softened for machining or forming

💭 Think About

• When you anneal a metal, are you usually trying to make it easier or harder to bend, shape, or machine? • Which property change is most useful if you plan to do further forming (bending, rolling, drawing) after heat treatment? • Does annealing normally make a metal stronger and harder, or more ductile and easier to work?

✅ Before You Answer

• Clarify the definition of annealing versus other processes like quenching and tempering • Identify which option describes a condition that makes the metal easier to form and machine • Eliminate any choice that suggests increased hardness or strength as the main goal of annealing