1. The stiffness method is used to analyze the beam by determining its degree of kinematic indeterminacy, selecting unknown displacements, restraining the structure, and generating a stiffness matrix.
2. A 4m beam with supports at 1.5m and 3m is analyzed using a stiffness matrix approach. The displacements selected are the rotations at joints B and C.
3. The stiffness matrix is generated by applying unit rotations at each joint and calculating the actions. This matrix is then used along with the applied loads in a superposition equation to solve for the unknown displacements.