Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of ductility?

Ductility refers to a material's ability to undergo significant plastic deformations before rupture or fracture. It is a measure of how much a material can change shape under tensile stress without breaking. The characteristics of ductility include:

• The ability to stretch represents a ductile material's capacity to elongate when a tensile force is applied. This is a fundamental aspect of ductility because it shows how the material can deform.

• The ability to deform without breaking signifies that a ductile material can withstand considerable deformation. This also aligns closely with the definition of ductility since the core quality is the material's resistance to sudden failure.

• The ability to absorb energy relates to a material's capacity to handle mechanical stress before breaking. Ductile materials can absorb more energy through deformation, which allows for a greater degree of bending and stretching compared to brittle materials.

In contrast, the ability to fracture easily is not a characteristic of ductility. In fact, ductile materials are characterized by their resistance to fracture and ability to deform significantly. Thus, the option referring to the ability to fracture easily contradicts the essence of what ductility represents in materials science. This is why it is not viewed as a characteristic of ductility.