Materials

Question 1

Metallic

Answer 1

Metallic materials are inorganic substances, usually combinations of metallic elements, such as iron, titanium, aluminium, and gold, which may also contain small amounts of non-metallic elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.

Question 2

Non-metallic

Answer 2

Non-metallic materials include a wide range of composites, polymers, elastomers, vinyl’s, textiles, organic and non-organic compounds.

Question 3

Composite

Answer 3

A composite material is a combination of two materials with different physical and chemical properties. When they are combined they create a material which is specialised to do a certain job, for instance, to become stronger, lighter or resistant to electricity. They can also improve strength and stiffness. The reason for their use over traditional materials is because they improve the properties of their base materials and are applicable in many situations.

Question 4

Natural

Answer 4

A natural material is any product or physical matter that comes from plants, animals, or the ground. Minerals and the metals that can be extracted from them are also considered to belong into this category.

Question 5

Thermoplastic

Answer 5

A thermoplastic is a material, usually a plastic polymer, which becomes more soft when heated and hard when cooled. Thermoplastic materials can be cooled and heated several times without any change in their chemical or mechanical properties. When thermoplastics are heated to their melting point, they melt to a liquid.

Question 6

Thermosetting plastics

Answer 6

A thermosetting plastic is a polymer that irreversibly becomes rigid when heated. Such a material is also known as a thermoset or thermosetting polymer. Initially, the polymer is a liquid or soft solid.

Question 7

Ceramics

Answer 7

A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing a non-metallic mineral, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick.

Question 8

Cast iron

Answer 8

Cast iron is an alloy of iron that contains 2 to 4 percent carbon, along with varying amounts of silicon and manganese and traces of impurities such as sulphur and phosphorus. It is made by reducing iron ore in a blast furnace.

Question 9

Carbon and alloy steels

Answer 9

Steel is an alloy made out of iron and carbon. The carbon percentage can vary depending on the grade, and mostly it is between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight. Different types and amounts of alloying element used determine the hardness, ductility and tensile strength of steel.

Question 10

Stainless steel

Answer 10

Stainless steel is a group of iron-based alloys that contain a minimum of approximately 11% chromium, a composition that prevents the iron from rusting, as well as providing heat-resistant properties .

Question 11

Aluminium

Answer 11

Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, non-magnetic and ductile metal in the boron group. Aluminium originates from bauxite, an ore typically found in the topsoil of various tropical and subtropical regions. Once mined, aluminium within the bauxite ore is chemically extracted into alumina, an aluminium oxide compound.

Question 12

Aluminium alloy

Answer 12

An aluminium alloy is a chemical composition where other elements are added to pure aluminium in order to enhance its properties, primarily to increase its strength. These other elements include iron, silicon, copper, magnesium, manganese and zinc at levels that combined may make up as much as 15 percent of the alloy by weight.

Question 13

Copper

Answer 13

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange colour. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys.

Question 14

Brass

Answer 14

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve varying mechanical and electrical properties. The proportions of the copper and zinc are varied to yield many different kinds of brass. Basic modern brass is 67% copper and 33% zinc. However, the amount of copper may range from 55% to 95% by weight, with the amount of zinc varying from 5% to 45%.

Question 15

Bronze

Answer 15

Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals and sometimes non-metals or metalloids such as arsenic, phosphorus or silicon.

Question 16

Lead

Answer 16

Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead is silvery with a hint of blue; it tarnishes to a dull grey colour when exposed to air.

Question 17

Nylon

Answer 17

Nylon is a thermoplastic silky material that can be melt-processed into fibre’s, films, or shapes.

Question 18

PVC

Answer 18

PVC, in full polyvinyl chloride, a synthetic resin made from the polymerization of vinyl chloride. PVC is used in an enormous range of domestic and industrial products, from raincoats and shower curtains to window frames and indoor plumbing. A lightweight, rigid plastic in its pure form, it is also manufactured in a flexible “plasticized” form.

Question 19

Perspex

Answer 19

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), also known as acrylic, or acrylic glass, is a transparent thermoplastic often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. The same material can be used as a casting resin or in inks and coatings, among many other uses.

Question 20

Rubber

Answer 20

Rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the rubber tree or others. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called “tapping”. The latex then is refined into rubber that is ready for commercial processing.

Question 21

Wood

Answer 21

Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic material – a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression.

Question 22

Glass

Answer 22

Glass, an inorganic solid material that is usually transparent or translucent as well as hard, brittle, and impervious to the natural elements. Glass has been made into practical and decorative objects since ancient times, and it is still very important in applications as disparate as building construction, housewares, and telecommunications. It is made by cooling molten ingredients such as silica sand with sufficient rapidity to prevent the formation of visible crystals.

Question 23

Glass fibre’s

Answer 23

Glass fibre is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibre’s of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibre’s, but mass manufacture of glass fibres was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling.

Question 24

Epoxy resin

Answer 24

Epoxy resin is a material that can be used for many different purposes and is created by mixing two components that are matched to each other. If the liquid resin is mixed with a suitable hardener, a chemical reaction is set in motion that usually lasts several hours.

Question 25

Carbon fibre

Answer 25

Carbon fibres or carbon fibres are fibres about 5 to 10 micrometres in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. Carbon fibres have several advantages including high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low thermal expansion.