Topics · Primary Science · Diversity: Materials
Materials and their properties
Everything is made of some material, and each material is chosen for what it can do. Questions on this topic are almost never “name the material” — they are “why that one”, and the answer is always a property.
- 517 exam papers analysed
- appears in 97% of P6 Science papers
- ~4 min read
01 Property, not name
A property is what a material is like: hard, flexible, waterproof, transparent, magnetic, a good conductor of heat or electricity.
Objects are made of a material because of its properties. A raincoat is plastic because plastic is waterproof; a saucepan handle is plastic because plastic is a poor conductor of heat. Same material, two different reasons.
So an answer naming the material alone rarely scores. Name the property and say what it lets the object do.
| Material | Waterproof | Flexible | Transparent | Conducts electricity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Glass | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Copper | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cotton | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
02 The properties that get tested
A short list covers nearly every question.
- Waterproof — does not let water through. Raincoats, umbrellas, roofs.
- Flexible — bends without breaking. Wires, hoses, clothing. The opposite is rigid.
- Transparent — light passes through and you can see clearly. Translucent lets light through but you cannot see clearly; opaque lets none through.
- Strong — does not break when pulled or pressed. Not the same as hard.
- Conducts electricity — lets electricity pass. Metals do; plastic, wood and rubber do not, which is why wires are copper inside plastic.
- Conducts heat — lets heat pass. Metals do, which is why a pan is metal and its handle is not.
- Magnetic — attracted to a magnet. Only some metals: iron, steel, nickel and cobalt. Not all metals, and never plastic.
- Absorbent — soaks up liquid. Towels and paper. The opposite of waterproof.
03 Choosing a material for a job
The standard question shows a table and asks which material suits a purpose. Work backwards: decide which properties the job needs, then find the row that has all of them.
A window needs to be transparent and waterproof. Glass and plastic both qualify on the table above, and a further property — hardness, or cost — decides between them.
Watch for a property the job must NOT have. A plug casing must not conduct electricity, so the answer is the material with a cross in that column, not a tick.
04 Objects are usually made of several materials
A saucepan is metal for the pan and plastic for the handle. A wire is copper for the core and plastic for the coating. An umbrella is fabric, metal and plastic together.
Papers exploit this: the question asks about one part, and the property that matters is the property of that part. Read which part is being asked about before answering.
Being able to say why each part is that material is the P5–P6 version of this topic, and it is worth practising as a sentence: “the handle is plastic because plastic is a poor conductor of heat, so it does not get hot to hold.”
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. Capitals mark the syllable you lean on. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- materialsaymuh-TEER-ee-uhlmore than onematerials
What an object is made of — plastic, glass, metal, wood, fabric.
- propertysayPROP-uh-teemore than oneproperties
What a material is like: waterproof, flexible, transparent and so on.
- flexiblesayFLEK-si-buhl
Bends without breaking. The opposite is rigid.
- transparentsaytrans-PA-ruhnt
Light passes through and you can see clearly. Translucent lets light through without a clear view; opaque lets none through.
- conductorsaykuhn-DUK-tuhmore than oneconductors
A material that lets heat or electricity pass through. Metals are good conductors.
- insulatorsayIN-syuh-lay-tuhmore than oneinsulators
A material that does not let heat or electricity pass easily. Plastic, wood and rubber.
- absorbentsayuhb-ZOR-buhnt
Soaks up liquid, like a towel. The opposite of waterproof.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P3
Naming materials and their obvious properties, and sorting objects by what they are made of.
Practise P3 Diversity: Materials — 10 questions →78% of P3 papers
- P4
Matching a material to a job by its properties, and reading a property table.
Practise P4 Diversity: Materials — 10 questions →92% of P4 papers
- P5
Conductors and insulators of heat and electricity, and objects made of more than one material.
Practise P5 Diversity: Materials — 10 questions →80% of P5 papers
- P6
Explaining a choice of material in full, and fair tests comparing how materials behave.
Practise P6 Diversity: Materials — 9 questions →97% of P6 papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“The pan is metal because metal is strong.”
The property that matters for a pan is that metal conducts heat well. Strong is true but is not why that job needs metal.
“All metals are magnetic.”
Only iron, steel, nickel and cobalt. Copper, aluminium and gold are metals and are not attracted to a magnet.
“Plastic is the answer because it is waterproof.”
Check which property the job needs. For a plug casing the point is that plastic does not conduct electricity.
“Transparent and translucent are the same.”
Transparent means you can see clearly through it; translucent lets light through but the view is blurred, like frosted glass.
“The object is made of plastic.”
Which part? A saucepan, a wire and an umbrella are each made of several materials, and the question asks about one of them.
Now try it
39 questions across 4 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.