Materials and composites: including metals, ceramics and polymers
I can classify materials as metals, ceramics, or polymers, and describe and predict the properties of some composite materials.
- Year 9
Materials and composites: including metals, ceramics and polymers
I can classify materials as metals, ceramics, or polymers, and describe and predict the properties of some composite materials.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Metals are good thermal and electrical conductors, they are strong, shiny, malleable and ductile.
- Ceramics are made from soft substances, becoming hard and brittle when heated.
- Plastics are made from polymers and there are many types of plastics with very different properties.
- An alloy is a mixture of elements including at least one metal.
- Composites combine materials to create a new material with improved properties.
Keywords
Metal - A material that is shiny, hard and a good thermal and electrical conductor.
Ceramic - A material which is hard and brittle.
Polymer - Long chained molecules formed by joining together monomers.
Alloy - A mixture of two or more elements where at least one element is a metal.
Composite - A material made from two or more different types of materials. When combined they create a new material with improved properties.
Common misconception
The word material can be challenging, it has a different meaning in everyday life. Understanding that an alloy is a mixture and not a compound is hard because the elements are difficult to separate.
Provide lots of different examples of materials and use the word correctly within the scientific contexts. An alloy is the exception to the rule and is separated by thermal or chemical processes.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Everything around us is made of . These are the substances that objects are made from. They can be natural (e.g. wood and stone) or human–made (e.g. plastic and steel).
Q2.What do you call the features of a material that can be observed or measured?
Q3.Match the following key words to their definition.
Q4.Which of the following materials can be transparent?
Q5.Match the following key words or phrases to their definition.
Q6.Scientific methods include observation, measurement, and manipulations (e.g. heating) to determine material properties. All these actions can be part of a scientific ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Clay and sand both consist of silicates with different particle sizes. Ceramics made from clay are opaque, while glass made from sand is typically transparent. How do these different properties occur?
Q2.If you couldn't see them, how would you distinguish between a metal, a ceramic, and a plastic vase of the same shape and size?
Q3.Polymers are monomers joined together into long chains, sometimes with chemical connections between the chains. Poly(ester) and poly(propene) are polymers and specific examples of .
Q4.Match the following key words to their definition.
