At the end of this section you should be able to:

1. Identify assumptions, conditions and limitations to using equations for transverse shear stress

2. Calculate transverse shear stress in a beam at an arbitrary point

3. Find maximum transverse shear stress across span and height of beam

Transverse Shear Stress explains how to compute the shear stress distribution in a beam caused by the internal shear force. This section focuses on when transverse shear stress equations are valid, what assumptions and limitations you must check, and how to calculate shear stress at an arbitrary point in the cross section. You will practice finding the maximum transverse shear stress by searching both along the beam span (where shear force is largest) and through the beam depth (where shear stress typically peaks), including worked cases for rectangular and non-rectangular cross sections, with Mathematica resources to support setup and checking.