GCSE revision posters for materials

1. Paper and card
Material/ Name Uses Description
Layout and Tracing Paper
• Hard and Translucent
• Typically 50g/m
• Take spirit-based marker pens well
Used during the development stage of designing Lightweight
thin paper
Transparent
Cartridge paper
• Tough and lightly textured
• Often used in a very light cream colour
• Takes coloured pencils very well
• 100-135g/m
General drawing Good quality white paper
Available in different weights
General purpose work
Medium cost
Cardboard
• Can be laminated together to create thicker boards
• From 200g/m upwards
• Often made from recycled materials
General modelling and packaging Durable
Made by corrugated lines for density
From recycled fibre
Solid white board
• Stronger, high-quality board
• Made from pure bleached wood pulp
• Excellent for printing on to
Book covers
More expensive packaging
Best card for printing on too
From quality bleached wood
Durable
Semi- ridged
1.A tree is cut down and
the trunk is fed into a
chipping machine where it
is cut into very small
pieces.
2. The wood chips
are boiled in water
to form a thick
wood pulp
3. ingredients such
as starch and bonding
agents are added.
The pulp is poured
over a fine mesh and
the water escapes
leaving the cellulose
fibres behind. This
forms the paper
Composite materials are materials made
from two or more constituent materials
with significantly different physical or
chemical properties, that when
combined, produce a material with
characteristics different from the
individual components. Composite
materials consist of:
• cements, concrete
• Reinforced plastics such as fibre-reinforced
polymer
• Metal Composites
• Ceramic Composites
Paper and card are the materials that
we all throw away
the most, making up over a third of
the rubbish we produce.
It is easy to make new paper and card
by recycling the old
paper and card.
Paper is a versatile material with many
uses
By Evie Lawrence

2. Hard wood is a type of wood
that comes from angiosperm
trees. Some of these trees
are called Oak trees, Maple
trees and Beech trees. These
are some examples of what
hard wood looks like:
Hard Wood
By Evie Lawrence
Soft wood
Soft wood is a type of wood that
comes from coniferous trees and
evergreen trees. Soft wood is the
source of around 80% of the worlds
production timber. These are a few
examples of what soft wood looks like:
Manufactured wood is a type
of wood that is man made.
Some of the most common
types of manufactured wood
is plywood and MDF. Here are
some examples of
manufactured wood.
These are
pieces of
Plywood
These are
pieces of
MDF
This is how hardwood floors are manufactured.
There are two types of wood:
softwood and hardwood.
These names do not refer to
the properties of the wood:
some softwoods can be hard
and some hardwoods can be
soft
Softwood comes from particular types of trees, it is made
by nature. Softwoods have a particular cellular structure
at the microscopic level. Some Softwoods included in
that definition are actually harder than some hardwoods.
For example Balsa wood is biologically a hardwood, but it
is softer for carving and cutting than is the biological
softwood.
Hardwood is wood from deciduous trees and broad-leaf
evergreen trees. All hardwoods are angiosperms
(flowering plants) which are the most assorted and
largest group of land plants. Hardwoods all have
enclosed nuts or seeds. Hardwood is in contrast to
softwood which come from conifers, cone bearing seed
plants.

3. By Evie Lawrence
Metal Property Use
Aluminium Heat Conductor Make Saucepans
Copper Electrical Conductor Make electric wiring
Gold Lustrous (shiny) Make jewellery
Lead Dense To add weight when scuba diving
Platinum High melting and boiling point Electrodes of spark plugs
Steel High tensile strength
Strong
• Makes ropes
• Makes bridges
• Buildings
• cars
Tungsten Hard Make drill pieces
Alloys
An alloy is a material composed of two or
more metals or a metal and a non-metal.
An alloy may be a solid solution of the
elements.
Non Ferrous Metals
•Aluminium – An alloy of aluminium, copper and
manganese. Very lightweight and easily worked. Used in
aircraft manufacture, window frames and some kitchen
ware.
•Copper – Copper is a natural occurring substance. The
fact that it conducts heat and electricity means that it is
used for wiring, tubing and pipe work.
•Brass – A combination of copper and zinc, usually in the
proportions of 65% to 35% respectively. Is used for
ornamental purposes and within electrical fittings.
•Silver – Mainly a natural substance, but mixing with
copper creates sterling silver. Used for decorative impact
in jewellery and ornaments, and also to solder different
metals together.
•Lead – Lead is a naturally occurring substance. It is heavy
and very soft and is often used in roofing, in batteries and
to make pipes.
Ferrous Metals
•Mild Steel – Carbon content of 0.1 to 0.3% and Iron
content of 99.7 – 99.9%. Used for engineering purposes and
in general, none specialised metal products.
•Carbon steel – Carbon content of 0.6 to 1.4% and Iron
content of 98.6 to 99.4 %. Used to make cutting tools
such as drill bits.
•Stainless Steel – Made up of Iron, nickel and chromium.
Resists staining and corrosion and is therefore used for the
likes of cutlery and surgical instrumentation. See our info
graphic celebrating 100 years of stainless steel usage in
buildings or the different types of stainless steel.
•Cast Iron – carbon 2 – 6% and Iron at 94 to 98%. Very
strong but brittle. Used to manufacture items such as
engine blocks and manhole covers.
•Wrought Iron – Composed of almost 100% iron. Used to
make items such as ornamental gates and fencing.

4. By Evie Lawrence
Plastics:
natural,
synthetic,
thermosetting or
thermoplastic
There are two types of plastics:
thermoplastics and
thermosetting polymers.
Thermoplastics are the plastics
that do not undergo chemical
change in their composition
when heated and can be
moulded again and again.
Thermosetting polymers
have different
properties to
thermosetting polymers.
Once moulded, they do
not soften when heated
and they cannot be
reshaped. Vulcanised
rubber is a thermoset
used to make tyres.
Natural
Natural sources of plastics include:
plants - from which cellulose can be extracted
trees - from which latex, amber and resin can be extracted
animals - from which horn and milk (used to make glues) are obtained
insects - from which shellac (used to make polish) is obtained
Synthetic
Synthetic plastics are chemically manufactured from:
crude oil
coal
natural gas

5. By Evie Lawrence
A ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic solid
comprising metal, non-metal or metalloid
atoms primarily held in ionic and covalent
bonds. The crystallinity of ceramic materials
ranges from highly oriented to semi-crystalline,
and often completely amorphous (e.g.,
glasses).
ALUMINA
Alumina is the most widely used advanced ceramic
material. It offers very good performance in terms of
wear resistance, corrosion resistance and strength at
a reasonable price. Its high dielectric properties are
beneficial in electronic products.
Applications include armour, semiconductor
processing equipment parts, faucet disc valves,
seals, electronic substrates and industrial machine
components.
SILICON NITRIDE
Silicon nitride exceeds other ceramic materials in
thermal shock resistance. It also offers an excellent
combination of low density, high strength, low
thermal expansion and good corrosion resistance and
fracture toughness.
Applications include various aerospace and
automotive engine components, papermaking
machine wear surfaces, armour, burner nozzles and
molten metal processing parts.
SILICON CARBIDE
Silicon carbide has the highest corrosion resistance
of all the advanced ceramic materials. It also retains
its strength at temperatures as high as 1400°C and
offers excellent wear resistance and thermal shock
resistance.
Applications include armour, mechanical seals,
nozzles, silicon wafer polishing plates and pump
parts.
ZIRCONIA
Zirconia has the highest strength and toughness at
room temperature of all the advanced ceramic
materials. The fine grain size allows for extremely
smooth surfaces and sharp edges.
Applications include scissors, knifes, slitters, pump
shafts, metal-forming tools, fixtures, tweezers, wire
drawing rings, bearing sleeves and valves.
SAPPHIRE
Single crystal sapphire offers superior mechanical
properties and chemical stability coupled with light
transmission.

6. By Evie Lawrence

7. By Evie Lawrence
Food
Carbohydrates
Protein
Dairy
Fibre and Vitamins
Water is a transparent fluid which forms the
world's streams, lakes, oceans and rain, and is
the major constituent of the fluids of living
things. Its used for drinking or keeping clean.
Fibre is found in the indigestible parts of plants,
good source of fibre include wholegrain foods,
fruits and vegetables.
Minerals In the diet, certain substances
necessary for the maintenance of life and
good health. Some are essential components
of bodily substances, such as the calcium in
bones and the iron in haemoglobin, whereas
others help regulate the activities of
metabolism.
vitamins in food is a complex organic
compound that are needed in small amounts
by the body for normal growth and
metabolism. An important part of a balanced
diet, vitamins occur naturally in foods and
may be added to processed foods to increase
their nutritional value.
Fats are made of three fatty acids. Dietary fat
supplies humans with essential fatty acids, such
as linoleic acid and linoleic acid. Fat also
regulates cholesterol metabolism and is a
precursor of prostaglandins. See more at
saturated fat, unsaturated fat.
Carbohydrates come in simple forms such as
sugars and in complex forms such as starches
and fibre. The body breaks down most sugars
and starches into glucose, a simple sugar that
the body can use to feed its cells.
Protein from animal sources, such as meat and
milk, is called complete, because it contains all
nine of the essential amino acids. Most vegetable
protein is considered incomplete because it lacks
one or more of the essential amino acids. Starch
• thickens a liquid by forming a suspension such as a sauce
• forms a gel when the suspension is heated, like adding corn flour to a custard powder and milk mix
Sugar
• flavours by sweetening
• colours by caramelising when heated
• aerates when beaten with a fat such as in a cake mix
Proteins
• can coagulate which is when a liquid becomes firmer, for example when an egg is heated
• can aerate a mixture, like whisking egg whites in a meringue mix
Fats
• shortens pastry (makes it more crumbly) by making it less stretchy
• can act as an emulsifying agent to stop two liquids from separating
• moistens a baked mixture such as a cake!

8. By Evie Lawrence
A standard component is usually an individual part which is manufactured in thousands or
millions, to the same specification (such as size, weight, material). A good example is a
steel bolt. Bolts are available in a vast range of standard sizes. However, each size will be
manufactured to an internationally accepted standard.
For example a typical steel M20 bolt is a specific length, diameter, quality of steel and
pitch of thread.
To ensure that each bolt is the same a small number, are selected from a batch and
checked for quality and tolerance, before being sold to customers. Each sample bolt must
fall within certain tolerances before being passed.
Disadvantages of using standard components
• less reliable - one manufacturer depends on
another
• components can be more expensive
• sensory qualities may not be as good as fresh
ingredients
• large amount of storage space
• time needed for ordering and delivery