In engineering drawing, what does a section view show?

• A. The interior features revealed by cutting away part of the object to show hidden details.
• B. External dimensions only.
• C. Material composition.
• D. Surface textures.

Answer: (A)

A section view is used to reveal the inside of a part by imagining a plane cutting through it and removing part of the object. The resulting view shows interior features that would be hidden from the outside—such as holes, cavities, internal threads, slots, and how those features relate to each other in the remaining walls. The cut surfaces are typically shown with hatch lines to indicate the material and to distinguish the interior geometry from the exterior. This is why it’s the best way to communicate interior detail when exterior views can’t show enough information.

External dimensions are captured in views that show the outside shape and are given with dimension lines there; material composition is indicated by notes or a bill of materials, and surface textures are represented with finish symbols. The section view specifically targets the interior structure that isn’t visible otherwise.