Structure and Function of Wood
In Structure and Function of Wood, you'll learn ...
- The basic biological structure of wood and the interpretation of its properties in an engineering context
- How the structure of wood and its function in a living tree relates to the strengths and limitations of wood as an engineering material
- Microscopic structure of hardwoods and softwoods
- The basis for macroscopic properties of wood, such as density, hardness and bending strength
Overview
Wood is a complex biological structure, a composite of many chemistries and cell types acting together to serve the needs of a living plant. There is no property of wood—physical, mechanical, chemical, biological, or technological—that is not fundamentally derived from the fact that wood is formed to meet the needs of the living tree.
Wood has evolved over the course of millions of years to serve three main functions in plants? conduction of water from the roots to the leaves, mechanical support of the plant body, and storage of biochemicals. To accomplish any of these functions, wood must have cells that are designed and interconnected in ways sufficient to perform these functions.
Understanding the basic requirements dictated by these three functions and identifying the structures in wood that perform them allow insight to the realm of wood as an engineering material.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- Understanding the biological structure of wood
- Understanding the microscopic structure of softwoods and hardwoods
- Reviewing the differences between juvenile wood and reaction wood
- Viewing the appearance of wood as sawn lumber
Certificate of Completion
You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.
This course is applicable to professional engineers in: | ||
Alabama (P.E.) | Alaska (P.E.) | Arkansas (P.E.) |
Delaware (P.E.) | District of Columbia (P.E.) | Florida (P.E. Area of Practice) |
Georgia (P.E.) | Idaho (P.E.) | Illinois (P.E.) |
Illinois (S.E.) | Indiana (P.E.) | Iowa (P.E.) |
Kansas (P.E.) | Kentucky (P.E.) | Louisiana (P.E.) |
Maine (P.E.) | Maryland (P.E.) | Michigan (P.E.) |
Minnesota (P.E.) | Mississippi (P.E.) | Missouri (P.E.) |
Montana (P.E.) | Nebraska (P.E.) | Nevada (P.E.) |
New Hampshire (P.E.) | New Jersey (P.E.) | New Mexico (P.E.) |
New York (P.E.) | North Carolina (P.E.) | North Dakota (P.E.) |
Ohio (P.E. Self-Paced) | Oklahoma (P.E.) | Oregon (P.E.) |
Pennsylvania (P.E.) | South Carolina (P.E.) | South Dakota (P.E.) |
Tennessee (P.E.) | Texas (P.E.) | Utah (P.E.) |
Vermont (P.E.) | Virginia (P.E.) | West Virginia (P.E.) |
Wisconsin (P.E.) | Wyoming (P.E.) |