What describes a material's plasticity?

C accurately describes a material's plasticity because it refers to the capacity of a material to undergo permanent deformation when subjected to stress, without returning to its original shape once the load is removed. This property is crucial in manufacturing and design, as it allows materials to be molded into specific forms and retain those shapes during use, which is especially important for applications like metalworking and polymer processing.

In contrast, other options focus on different material properties. The ability to conduct electrical current relates to electrical conductivity, which measures a material's ability to allow the flow of electric charge. The range of temperatures a material can withstand pertains to thermal properties, indicating its stability and performance under varying thermal conditions. The ability to flex repeatedly without damage describes a material's fatigue resistance or elasticity rather than plasticity, highlighting how well a material can endure cyclic stress without permanent deformation. Each of these properties plays a vital role in material selection for specific applications, but only plasticity is specifically about permanent shape change.