A carabineer rated at 9000lbs. breaking strength has a force of 600lbs. There is a ____ to ___ component safety factor (9000/600).

• A. 12:1
• B. 15:1
• C. 10:1
• D. 9:1

Answer: (B)

The main idea is safety factor, which is how much stronger a component is than the load it’s expected to carry. It’s calculated by dividing the breaking strength by the working load.

Here, the breaking strength is 9000 pounds and the actual load is 600 pounds. 9000 divided by 600 equals 15, so the safety factor is 15 to 1. This means the carabineer’s strength is fifteen times what is actually used, giving a healthy margin for uncertainties like dynamic forces or wear.

The other options would correspond to different working loads or breaking strengths and don’t match the given numbers, so they’re not applicable to this scenario.