2

Chapter

Exploring Diversity
of Matter by its
Physical Properties
Exercise 2.1 Materials and Their Physical Properties Link it
TB: Sections 2.2 & 2.3

1. What type of materials are the following objects made of?

15

2. What physical property is being tested in each of the following diagrams? Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

Diagram Physical property tested

metal rod

hot water

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 boulder/rock

a piece
of wood

copper plate

16
Chapter 2

plastic ruler

3. Everyday objects can be classified in different ways, such as by the type of materials
they are made of or their physical properties.

(a) Using your answers from Question 1, classify the common objects according to

(i) the type of materials they are made of:

(ii) whether or not they conduct electricity:

(iii) whether or not they are brittle:

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 (b) Suggest any other ways to classify the same objects.

4. Complete the five boxes in the key below with the following words.

glass plastic metal ceramic natural fibre

Material

Conducts electricity?

17
Yes No

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

No Yes

Transparent? Strong?

Yes No Yes No

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 5. I shouldn’t be alive!

A few years ago, a father and his son were caught in a snowstorm while on a mountain
in Turkey. They were forced to spend several nights in a snow cave. Despite the cold
temperatures outside, they survived with only minor injuries.

(a) Is snow a good conductor or a poor conductor of heat? What does this mean?

(b) Using your answer from (a), explain why they could survive inside the cave.

18
Chapter 2

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 Name: Class: Date:

Exercise 2.2 Uses of Materials in Daily Life Link it

TB: Section 2.3

1. An iron is a small appliance used to smooth clothes. The pictures show a 19th Century
iron and a modern electric iron.

A 19th century iron A modern electric iron

(a) The handle of a modern iron is made of plastic. Explain why.

19
(b) Suggest the material used for the handle in the 19th Century iron (before plastics
were used).

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

(c) The base of both irons is made of iron or steel. Explain why.
2. Soft drinks can be bought in glass bottles, aluminium cans or plastic bottles. The three
types of materials have different properties. State two reasons for the use of each kind
of material.

Materials

Glass Plastic Aluminium

Reasons: Reasons: Reasons:

1. 1. 1.

2. 2. 2.

3. 3. 3.

4. 4.

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 3. State the material used to make the objects in the table below and the properties of the
material that make it useful.

Object Type of material Properties

Knife, fork and spoon

Bowl

20
Chapter 2

Street light cover

Cotton clothes

Aircraft body

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 4. The table below shows data for some physical properties of various metals.

Metal Density (g/cm3) Electrical conductivity* Heat conductivity*

Aluminium 2.7 3 3

Copper 8.9 4.5 4.5

Gold 19.3 4 4

Iron 7.9 2 2

Tin 7.3 3 2

Silver 10.5 5 5

*On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best

(a) Which of these metals is (i) the best conductor of electricity and (ii) the poorest
conductor of electricity?
21

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

(b) Look at the data for electrical and heat conductivity. What do you notice?

(c) Both aluminium and copper can be used in electricity wires such as those shown
below.

(i) Explain why.

(ii) Modern overhead wires contain a lot of aluminium but not copper. Suggest why.

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 (iii) Silver could be used for this purpose but it is not. Suggest reasons for this.

(d) Iron, aluminium and copper are used to make cooking pots. Which will cook food
faster? Explain.

(e) Gold is not a suitable material for making plates. Suggest reasons for this.

22
Chapter 2

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 Name: Class: Date:

Exercise 2.3 Measuring Physical Quantities: Mass, Length and Volume

Link it
TB: Section 2.4

1. Complete the table below.

Physical quantity SI unit Symbol Smaller unit Symbol

Length centimetre

cubic metre

Mass gram

2. Complete the following conversions.

(a) Masses:
23

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

1 kg = g 3.5 kg = g 600 g = kg

1g= mg 0.68 g = mg 487 mg = g

1 tonne = 1000 kg
4 tonnes = kg 1 958 g = kg

(b) Lengths:

1 km = m 2.5 km = m 960 m = km

1m= km 2.4 m = cm 10 cm = mm

1 cm = mm 0.4 cm = mm 25 mm = cm

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 3. Mark wants to find the mass of a coin of a certain value. To do
this, he chose to use an electronic balance and first found the
mass of four coins.

(a) What is the reading on the balance?

(b) What is the mass of each coin?

(c) Why did Mark use four coins rather than one?

4. According to the story of Noah’s Ark, the boat was 300 cubits long and 50 cubits wide.
24
(a) If a cubit in Noah’s time was approximately 45 cm, how long and how wide would
the Ark have been in centimetres?
Chapter 2

Length = cm Width = = cm

(b) We cannot be certain of the exact size of Noah’s Ark. Why not?

5. Siti is on a field trip to Pulau Ubin to study the birds there. She discovered two eggs
of the Large-tailed Nightjar, which lays its eggs on the bare earth. She measured the
lengths of the eggs with a ruler.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(a) What is the length of one egg?

Reading on left =

Reading on right =

Length of one egg =

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 (b) When Siti measures the eggs, what should she do so that there is no parallax error?
Position
.

6. Summer Olympics

After the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the official diameter of a table tennis ball
was changed from 38 mm to 40 mm. The larger ball was slower, which made table tennis
a better game to watch on television.
At one tournament, officials suspected that some players were using a
smaller, faster ball. So they measured its length as shown below.

C 25

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

D

(a) Name the instrument the officials were using.

(b) Label the parts that are marked in the diagram.

(c) What is the function of the part labelled A?

(d) What is the diameter of the tennis ball in cm and mm?

(e) Should the officials allow the players to use this ball?

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 7. To measure the volume of a small marble, Eric places four identical marbles in a
measuring cylinder containing water.

30 cm3 40 cm3
} }
20 cm3 30 cm3

(a) What is the volume reading before the marbles are added?

(b) What is the volume reading after the marbles are added?

(c) What is the volume of each ball?

26
(d) Measuring the volume of four (or more) marbles instead of one gives a more
accurate result. Suggest a reason why.
Chapter 2

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 Name: Class: Date:

Exercise 2.4 Determining a Physical Quantity: Density Link it

TB: Section 2.4

1. Complete the table below. Leave your answer to 3 significant figures if it is not exact.

Substance Mass (g) Volume (cm3) Density (g/cm3)

Platinum 215 10

Diamond 70 20

Lead 1 695 150

Glass 100 2.5

Plastic foam 500 0.08

Mercury 20 13.6

Pure water 50 1.00

Seawater 50 1.03
27
Petrol 100 0.80

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

2. The table below shows the densities of some materials. Refer to the table to answer
the questions that follow.

Material Density (g/cm3)

Solids Gold 19.3

Silver 10.5

Iron 7.9

Aluminium 2.7

Glass 2.5

Ice 0.92

Plastic foam 0.08

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 Material Density (g/cm3)

Liquids Mercury 13.6

Glycerine 1.3

Seawater 1.03

Pure water (at 4°C) 1.00

Corn oil 0.90

Petrol 0.80

Alcohol 0.79

Glass Air 0.001 29

Hydrogen 0.000 09
28
Chapter 2

(a) Which material has the highest density?

(b) Which substance has the lowest density?

(c) Which normally have the highest densities — solids, liquids or gases?

(d) Which is denser:

(i) silver or mercury?

(ii) air or hydrogen?

(e) Which of the solids will sink if it is placed in mercury?

(f) Which of the solids will float if they are placed in seawater?

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 (g) A hydrogen balloon is released into the air. Will it rise or fall? Explain.

(h) Suggest why aluminium and not iron is used to build aeroplanes.

3. A student carries out an experiment to find the density of some oil. The following
diagrams show the method and the measurements taken.

empty beaker beaker

oil

200.0 g 245.0 g
29

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

electronic balance electronic balance

Mass of empty beaker = 200 g Mass of beaker + oil = 245 g

The volume of oil in the beaker is 50 cm3.

(a) What is the mass of the oil?

(b) Calculate the density of the oil.

(c) The masses of four different blocks of wood, each with a volume of 50 cm3, are
given in the table below.

Type of wood Mass (g)

African teak 49.0

Balsa 7.0

Cedar 27.5

Ironwood 61.5

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 Which type(s) of wood will sink in oil? Show your working in the space provided.

4. Equal volumes of the following liquids are poured into a measuring cylinder.
• Seawater (density 1.03 g/cm3)
• Mercury (density 13.6 g/cm3)
• Corn oil (density 0.90 g/cm3)
30 A little sand (density 2.6 g/cm3) is then added to the measuring cylinder.
Chapter 2

Complete the diagram below to show what will happen. Include appropriate labels.

5. The Dead Sea

Chloe is on a holiday to the Middle East

and visits the Dead Sea. She sees people
floating on the water easily. The Dead Sea
contains a large amount of dissolved salt.

Floating in the Dead Se

a

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 (a) Back at home, Chloe conducted an experiment to determine the density of water
with some salt added.

(i) Suggest how she can do this.

1.

2.

3.

(ii) Chloe found that dissolving salt increased the density of the salt solution. She
repeats the experiment with a larger amount of salt in the same quantity of
water. Suggest how this will affect the density of the solution.

(b) Explain why the people float easily.

31

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

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 Name: Class: Date:

Exercise 2.5 Choosing the Right Material Link it

TB: Section 2.5

Choose a suitable material to make each of the following objects. State the desirable
properties of the object, the material you chose and the reasons for your choice. The
materials you can choose from are metal, plastic, glass, ceramic and fibre.

1. To make a water hose

Desirable properties:

Material
chosen:
32
Chapter 2

Reasons:

2. To make a pot for heating liquids and keeping them hot

Desirable properties:

Material
chosen:

Reasons:

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 3. To make oven mitts
Desirable properties:

Material
chosen:

Reasons:

4. To make a trolley to transport heavy things 33

Desirable properties:

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

Material chosen:

Reasons:

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 Name: Class: Date:

Exercise 2.6 Household Waste and the 3 Rs Link it

TB: Section 2.6
Key competencies
• CGC: awareness of community and national issues

(A) A survey of household disposal items

Every day, people in our country throw away a lot of things.

You are to carry out a survey to find out what objects are
thrown away in your home.

1. Find out the objects thrown away in your home over a

period of one week. List them below.

Week: From to
34
Chapter 2

2. Classify the items in your list according to the kind of materials they are made of. Note
that some items may consist of more than one material. You may classify your waste
as: ‘paper’, ‘glass’, ‘metal’, ‘plastic’, ‘food’ and ‘others’.

Material(s) Item Biodegradable

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 3. In Singapore, paper and plastic are the most common types of waste. Do the
results of your survey show this? If not, which materials make up the most of your
household waste?

4. (a) What is meant by biodegradable?

(b) Which of the items in your waste are probably

biodedegradable?

(c) What is the advantage of biodegradable waste?

35

(B) Practising the 3 Rs

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

1. We need to decrease the amount of waste we throw away. Suggest one reason for
this.

2. To overcome the problem of waste disposal, people are encouraged to practise

the 3 Rs — Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Give examples of how to do this with the
objects thrown away in your home.

3 Rs Examples

(C) Presentation of findings (Optional)

Share your findings with your class.

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 Name: Class: Date:

Review Exercise Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

1. The diameter of a marble is measured using vernier callipers. The scale is shown in the
diagram. What is the diameter of the marble?
5 6

A 4.96 cm B 4.99 cm
C 5.06 cm D 5.09 cm

2. A parallax error can occur when using a .

I measuring tape II half-metre rule
III vernier callipers IV measuring cylinder
A I and II only B II and IV only
36 C II, III and IV only D I, II, III and IV
Chapter 2

3. Glen collects some carbon dioxide gas as shown in the experimental set-up below.
What conclusion can he draw about the density of carbon dioxide?
carbon dioxide gas
carbon dioxide gas
measuring
delivery cylinder
tube

water

A Air is less dense than carbon dioxide.

B Water is less dense than carbon dioxide.
C Carbon dioxide is less dense than air.
D Carbon dioxide is less dense than water.

4. Which material(s) will float in a liquid of mass 90 g and volume 100 cm3?
I Plastic foam (0.08 g/cm3) II Cork (0.25 g/cm3)
III Glass (2.5 g/cm3) IV Copper (8.9 g/cm3)
A I only B I and II only
C II and III only D III and IV only

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 5. In making plastic food containers that are effective and environment-friendly, which of
the following properties should be considered?
I Biodegradable II Lightweight and strong
III Good conductor of heat IV Good heat insulator
A I and II only B II and III only
C I, II and IV only D II, III and IV only

6. The table shows the physical properties of some gemstones.

Gem Colour Hardness Lustre

Emerald Dark green 8 Glass-like

Sapphire Blue 9 Diamond-like

Pyrope Dark red 7 Diamond-like

White opal Whitish 6 Glass-like

Kunzite Pinkish 7 Glass-like

Ruby Dark red 8 Glass-like 37

Matara Colourless 7 Diamond-like

Exploring Diversity of Matter by its Physical Properties

(a) Hardness is measured on a scale called Mohs scale. It goes from 1 to 10 with 10
being the hardest. Which of these gems is (i) the hardest and (ii) the softest?

(b) The hardness of a substance is tested by the scratch test. A substance will be used
to scratch another substance which is softer but not one which is harder. Which
substances can scratch matara?

(c) Mark chose a property and divided the gems into two groups according to that
property. Here are his groups.

Group 1 Group 2

emerald, kunzite, white opal, ruby sapphire, pyrope, matara

Which property did he use to put the gems into these groups?

(d) Sapphires are used (i) as electrical insulators and (ii) in cutting tools. What physical
properties of sapphires make them useful for these uses?

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 7. Jane wants to find the volume of a small toy. She is given the following.

Measuring cylinder Wooden block Displacement can

Small metallic toy Thread Beaker

38

Draw diagrams below to show how she should measure the volume of the toy.
Chapter 2

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