UNIT FIVE

MATERIALS

CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS
1) There are many types of materials around us.

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
1) Each materials has is unique physical properties. 2) Some of important properties of materials are: a) ability to conduct electricity. b) ability to conduct heat. c) ability to float on water. d) ability to absorb water. e) elastic or non-elastic. f) allow or do not allow light to pass through.

ABILITY TO CONDUCT ELECTRICITY

1) All metals can conduct electricity. 2) It will allow current to flow through it and light up the bulb. 3) Others materials such as wood, plastic, rubber and glass can not conduct electricity.

ABILITY TO CONDUCT HEAT

1) Metals are good heat conductors. 2) A good heat conductors will become hot very quickly on heating. 3) Wood, plastic, rubber and glass are poor conductors of heat. 4) Materials which do not conduct heat well are known as insulators.

ABILITY TO FLOAT ON WATER

1) Light materials will float on water. 2) Objects made from wood, plastic and rubber will float on water. 3) Materials that float are used for making boats and floats.

ABILITY TO ABSORB WATER

1) Wood has the ability to absorbs water because it has holes which allow water to enter. 2) Objects made from wood such as tissue paper and paper can absorb water or are absorbent materials. 3) Objects made from cotton such as towels are also absorbent. 4) These materials become wet when in contact with water, so they are suitable for drying wet surfaces. 5) Thus cotton cloth is suitable for making clothes since it can absorb sweat.

6) Materials which cannot absorb water are known as non-absorbent materials. 7) Non-absorbent materials used for making objects which prevent us from getting wet such as raincoats, tents and umbrellas.

ELASTIC OR NON-ELASTIC
1) The ability of a material to return to its original shape and size after being bent, twisted, stretched or squeezed is known as elasticity. 2) Rubber bands and springs are materials which are elastic.

ALLOW OR DON NOT ALLOW LIGHT TO PASS THROUGH

1) Some materials allow light to pass through them but some do not. 2) Materials such as glass and plastic allow light to pass through them, we can see the objects placed behind such a material by looking through it. 4) Materials such as wood, metal and rubber do not allow light to pass through them, we cannot see on object placed behind such a material.

CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS

1) Materials that allow electricity to flow through them are called conductors. 2) Materials that do not allow electricity to flow through them are called insulators. 3) All metals are conductors. 4) Non-metals such as wood, plastic, glass and rubber are insulators. 5) A good conductor of electricity is also a good conductor of heat. 6) Conductors are used to make electrical appliances such as electric irons, kettles and other electronic components.

7) Insulators are used for covering conductors such as cables and electrical appliances such as the radio and television and as handles for frying pans. 8) Some daily objects which are conductors and insulators are:
CONDUCTOR
Nail Copper wire Paper clip Aluminum foil Coins

INSULATOR
Eraser Plastic ruler Paper Wooden block Glass

ABILITY OF MATERIALS TO ALLOW LIGHT TO PASS THROUGH THEM

1) Materials can be classified into 3 groups according to the amount of light passing through them. A) Transparent Materials 1) Materials that allow most of the light to pass through them. 2) Allow us to see very clearly the objects that are behind them. 3) Materials such as air, water, transparent glass and plain plastic are example of transparent materials

B) Translucent Materials 1) Materials that scatter light and allow some light to pass through them. 2) These materials do not allow us to see very clearly objects behind them. Objects that we see are blurred. 3) Materials such as tracing paper, tinted glass and ice are examples of translucent materials. C) Opaque Materials 1) Materials that do not allow any light to pass through them. 2) These materials do not allow us to see objects behind them. 3) Examples of opaque objects are wooden objects, books, stones and carbon paper.

USES OF MATERIALS

A) WOOD 1) Comes from tree trucks. 2) Is lighter than most metals but is strong. 3) Is a flexible material since it can be easily shaped to make various objects.