EXPLORING MATERIALS

Learning more on Materials…Here we go!

 A material is something which an
object is made up of.

 A combination of different materials is often

used to make a single object.

 Example: a pen is made of plastic, ink, metal ,etc

There are materials which are natural and others that are man-made.

Materials that are commonly used to make things are:

Glass
Metal
Plastic
Rubber
Rock
Wood
Cloth
More about some materials…

Wood is from trees and it is used to build houses and furniture.

Plywood is made from the wood pulp and can be used to make cabinets.
Rocks are strong and hard.

Please take note:

Changes in weather can cause big pieces of different rocks to break down into stones, sand and
may become clay which are some of the raw materials to make cement and concrete.

Can you think of the use of cement and concrete?

Metal is generally shiny in appearance and mostly hard.

Examples: gold, silver, bronze, iron, steel, copper and aluminium
Plastic is made from chemicals which come mainly from petroleum. It is light and
shatterproof. It can be made transparent, translucent, or opaque.
Plastics are versatile since they can be made to be flexible, rigid, tough or brittle and they
are good insulators of heat and electricity.

Natural rubber is processed from the sap of rubber trees. It is a soft material and cannot
withstand heat. Synthetic rubber is made from chemicals that come from the petroleum.

Glass is hard, transparent and can be moulded when heated and non-corrosive. However, it
is brittle and breaks easily.

Cloth is made from natural or synthetic fibres or both. Natural fibres come from cotton,
linen, jute, wool or silk, etc.
Synthetic fibres such as nylon, rayon and polyester are often used to make socks and clothes
which are cheaper than those made from the natural materials.
Can you remember what we have learned from the experiments so far?

We investigated the properties of some materials…

Strength: the ability to be pulled without breaking or tearing

Flexibility: the ability to bend without breaking
Transparency: the ability to allow light to pass through
Buoyancy: the ability to float on the surface of water
Absorbency: The ability to take in water
Waterproof: impervious to water