Film title: Properties of materials
Why do we make greenhouses out of glass?
Because glass is a transparent material.
transparent
Sunlight passes through the glass so the plants inside can grow.
We say transparency is a distinctive feature, or property, of glass.
property
We can use the properties of a material to group it with other materials that share that property.
Water and kitchen film are also classed as transparent materials.
All materials have a number of properties.
As well as being transparent, glass is also a hard material with a smooth texture.
hard
smooth
Wool on the other hand is soft and flexible.
soft
flexible
Sandpaper is also flexible, but has a rough texture.
rough
What are the properties of the metal steel?
It is strong, hard and rigid.
strong
hard
rigid
What about rubber?
It is soft and bendy.
soft
bendy
So which material, steel or rubber, would you choose to build a bridge out of?
Steel, of course!
You wouldn't want to build a bridge out of rubber.
The properties of a material will determine how it is used.
So umbrellas are made out of a waterproof material like nylon...
waterproof
… while towels are made out of porous materials that absorb water...
porous
... and greenhouses are made out of transparent glass.
Materials can be grouped by their properties.
Because glass is a transparent material.
transparent
Sunlight passes through the glass so the plants inside can grow.
We say transparency is a distinctive feature, or property, of glass.
property
We can use the properties of a material to group it with other materials that share that property.
Water and kitchen film are also classed as transparent materials.
All materials have a number of properties.
As well as being transparent, glass is also a hard material with a smooth texture.
hard
smooth
Wool on the other hand is soft and flexible.
soft
flexible
Sandpaper is also flexible, but has a rough texture.
rough
What are the properties of the metal steel?
It is strong, hard and rigid.
strong
hard
rigid
What about rubber?
It is soft and bendy.
soft
bendy
So which material, steel or rubber, would you choose to build a bridge out of?
Steel, of course!
You wouldn't want to build a bridge out of rubber.
The properties of a material will determine how it is used.
So umbrellas are made out of a waterproof material like nylon...
waterproof
… while towels are made out of porous materials that absorb water...
porous
... and greenhouses are made out of transparent glass.
Materials can be grouped by their properties.
Discover how materials are grouped by their properties and how this is useful in everyday life.
Learning points
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