Impreso por

6º Educación Básica Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez

Natural Science Centro
Secundaria ASPAEN CORALES
(308001012805)
 Impreso por Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez
Natural Science Centro ASPAEN CORALES
Matter and materials 6º Educación Básica Secundaria (308001012805)

3 Materials

Matter and
materials

Everything around us is formed by matter and

it may adopt multiple forms and physical states.
Knowing them will help us to understand our
environment better.

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© Editorial Planeta S.A.U., 2022. Todos los derechos reservados de reproducción,

traducción, adaptación y ejecución reservados para todos los países. 2
 Impreso por Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez
Natural Science Centro ASPAEN CORALES
Matter and materials 6º Educación Básica Secundaria (308001012805)

3 Materials
1 Materials
Materials are different types of matter used to manufacture or create objects. There are two
types of materials: natural and man-made.

Natural products come from nature, while man-made products have been created by
humans.

The materials that humans take from the planet for their activities are limited. Therefore,
their use needs to be sustainable. This means that their extraction must be reduced; to this
end, each of us must consume consistently, reuse products and recycle wherever possible.

3.1 Natural materials

Natural materials are those that come from nature, without the involvement of humans.
These materials can be animal, plant or mineral based.

3.1.1 Animal products

These are materials that come from animals. Some animal products are:

• Animal skin: this is usually used to create clothes.

• Wool: this is obtained from the hair of certain animals and is known for its
lightness and its ability to insulate from the cold.

• Leather: this is obtained by tanning the animal skin and it is known for its
resistance.

• Silk: this comes from silk worms and is known for its lightness and softness.

When a sheep
is shorn, wool is
obtained to make
fabrics.

© Editorial Planeta S.A.U., 2022. Todos los derechos reservados de reproducción,

traducción, adaptación y ejecución reservados para todos los países. 3
 Impreso por Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez
Natural Science Centro ASPAEN CORALES
Matter and materials 6º Educación Básica Secundaria (308001012805)

3 Materials

3.1.2 Plant products

These are materials that come from plants. The materials that come from plants are very
varied and have a wide range of uses:

• Wood: this is one of the most important and widely used materials. It is obtained
from trees, and its properties (hardness, toughness and impermeability) depend
on the tree it is taken from.

• Cellulose: this is obtained from plants and is used to make paper.

• Cotton: this is obtained from a plant and is used to produce all types of clothing.

Cotton is a plant-
based material
that is used to
make clothes.

3.1.3 Mineral products

These materials are obtained from rocks.

Depending on their properties, minerals, precious stones and rocks themselves, are
used as precious stones or ornamental rocks, and as ore to obtain metals or as building
materials.

Petroleum (oil) is a material that comes from minerals and has many uses. It is used to
obtain fuel and to make all types of plastics and by-products

© Editorial Planeta S.A.U., 2022. Todos los derechos reservados de reproducción,

traducción, adaptación y ejecución reservados para todos los países. 4
 Impreso por Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez
Natural Science Centro ASPAEN CORALES
Matter and materials 6º Educación Básica Secundaria (308001012805)

3 Materials

Gold, coal or
granite are
materials of
mineral origin.

3.2 Man-made materials

Man-made materials are those that have been created by humans for their own benefit. In
general, these are natural materials that have been changed through various processes to
create other materials with different properties. Some of these materials are:

• Plastic: this is obtained from oil and is used to manufacture a huge number of
objects. Plastic is a resistant, flexible and light material that works very well as an
electrical insulator.

• Glass: this is obtained by heating up sand with other minerals. Glass is a hard and
transparent material.

• Paper and cardboard: this is obtained from the cellulose in plants, which is
subjected to physical and chemical processes. Cardboard is created by joining
together lots of layers of paper. Both paper and cardboard are good thermal and
acoustic insulators.

• Alloys: these are obtained by mixing metals that come from minerals. Alloys are
made to obtain metals with better properties than the original metals. Depending
on the type of alloy, it will have different types of properties.

The environmental impact of plastics

Plastics are synthetic materials that are mainly made from petroleum. They have
been used extensively throughout the 20th and 21st centuries because they
can be used to make a multitude of different objects. The problem with plastics
is that they can last for hundreds of years, since the vast majority of them are
not biodegradable and are difficult to recycle, so they end up accumulating in

© Editorial Planeta S.A.U., 2022. Todos los derechos reservados de reproducción,

traducción, adaptación y ejecución reservados para todos los países. 5
 Impreso por Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez
Natural Science Centro ASPAEN CORALES
Matter and materials 6º Educación Básica Secundaria (308001012805)

4 Exercises and skills

the environment. This leads to water and soil pollution, and causes the death of
many animals.

Plastic is a man-
made material
that is very
frequently used
to manufacture a
huge number of
objects.

Research
Chemicals

Chemicals are artificial materials that have many uses. They are widely used in industry,
but also at home, although many of them are harmful to health. In the following document
you can get information about chemicals at home .

Your task is to research what chemicals are in your home and what risks they cause to the
body.

3.3 Consolidation
Activities to consolidate what you have learned in this section.

Practise

You will find more activities on aulaPlaneta.com

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2 Exercises and skills

Test your abilities and apply what you have learned with these resources.

© Editorial Planeta S.A.U., 2022. Todos los derechos reservados de reproducción,

traducción, adaptación y ejecución reservados para todos los países. 6
 Impreso por Diana Raquel Perez Alvarez
Natural Science Centro ASPAEN CORALES
Matter and materials 6º Educación Básica Secundaria (308001012805)

4 Exercises and skills

Practise

You will find more activities on aulaPlaneta.com

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