Building Maintenance Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Study Resource

Welding is a fabrication process that involves joining materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by applying heat, pressure, or both. The correct statement is that it requires heating materials until they melt. This is fundamental to many welding techniques, such as arc welding, where an electric arc is created to melt the base metal and often a filler material to form a strong joint as they solidify.

This process leverages the properties of materials—when metals are heated to their melting point, they can bond together, creating a joint that is often stronger than the original materials. This principle is key to understanding welding and differentiates it from other joining methods, such as mechanical fastening, which does not involve melting materials.

Other options incorrectly describe various aspects of welding. For instance, mechanical fastening refers to methods like using bolts or rivets and does not involve melting, which is essential in welding. Similarly, welding is highly effective for metals; many metal structures rely on welding for their integrity and strength. Lastly, while manual welding exists, many modern welding techniques can be performed automatically or semi-automatically, utilizing sophisticated machinery. Therefore, option B is the correct assertion regarding the nature of welding.