Identify everyday materials such as glass, metal, wood and rubber from their physical properties. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.
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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Everyday materials & properties
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. Which material comes from the fleece of sheep and is spun into warm yarn: wool or nylon?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
2. Which property of metals allows them to be drawn out into long thin wires (such as copper wire): ductility or brittleness?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
3. Why are cooking saucepans usually made of metal with a wooden or plastic handle: metal conducts heat while wood/plastic is an insulator, or wood melts easily?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
4. Which material is attracted to a magnet: iron (steel) or wooden pine?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
5. What do we call a mixture of two or more elements, where at least one is a metal (such as bronze made from copper and tin, or steel from iron and carbon): an alloy or a solvent?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
6. Why is stainless steel used for surgical instruments and kitchen sinks: it resists rust and corrosion, or it dissolves in cold water?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
7. Which natural material comes from the trunks of trees and floats on water: wood or granite?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
8. When sugar dissolves in water, which substance is the solvent and which is the solute: water is the solvent and sugar is the solute, or sugar is the solvent?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
9. Why is expanded polystyrene or woollen fleece used as thermal insulation: trapped air pockets slow down heat transfer, or it generates electricity?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
10. What do we call a material that blocks all light from passing through (such as a wooden door): opaque or transparent?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
11. Which natural plant fibre grows in fluffy bolls and is woven into breathable shirts: cotton or aluminium?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
12. Which property describes a material like a rubber band that stretches when pulled and returns to its original shape: elastic or rigid?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
12 questions · Seed 71 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
View the answer key
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Everyday materials & properties
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. Which material comes from the fleece of sheep and is spun into warm yarn: wool or nylon?
Wool
Wool is a natural animal fibre that traps air for insulation.
2. Which property of metals allows them to be drawn out into long thin wires (such as copper wire): ductility or brittleness?
Ductility
Ductile materials can be stretched into wire under tension.
3. Why are cooking saucepans usually made of metal with a wooden or plastic handle: metal conducts heat while wood/plastic is an insulator, or wood melts easily?
Metal conducts heat while wood/plastic is an insulator
Metals transfer heat to the food, while insulating handles stay cool enough to hold.
4. Which material is attracted to a magnet: iron (steel) or wooden pine?
Iron (steel)
Iron and steel are ferromagnetic metals; wood is non-magnetic.
5. What do we call a mixture of two or more elements, where at least one is a metal (such as bronze made from copper and tin, or steel from iron and carbon): an alloy or a solvent?
Alloy
Alloying combines metals to improve strength, hardness or corrosion resistance.
6. Why is stainless steel used for surgical instruments and kitchen sinks: it resists rust and corrosion, or it dissolves in cold water?
It resists rust and corrosion
Chromium in stainless steel forms a protective oxide film that prevents rusting.
7. Which natural material comes from the trunks of trees and floats on water: wood or granite?
Wood
Timber is harvested from trees and is less dense than water, so it floats.
8. When sugar dissolves in water, which substance is the solvent and which is the solute: water is the solvent and sugar is the solute, or sugar is the solvent?
Water is the solvent and sugar is the solute
The liquid that does the dissolving is the solvent; the dissolved solid is the solute.
9. Why is expanded polystyrene or woollen fleece used as thermal insulation: trapped air pockets slow down heat transfer, or it generates electricity?
Trapped air pockets slow down heat transfer
Still air is a poor conductor of heat, so materials that trap air insulate well.
10. What do we call a material that blocks all light from passing through (such as a wooden door): opaque or transparent?
Opaque
Opaque materials do not allow light to pass through.
11. Which natural plant fibre grows in fluffy bolls and is woven into breathable shirts: cotton or aluminium?
Cotton
Cotton fibres are harvested from cotton plants and woven into fabric.
12. Which property describes a material like a rubber band that stretches when pulled and returns to its original shape: elastic or rigid?
Elastic
Elastic materials deform under force and spring back when released.
12 questions · Seed 71 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Everyday materials & properties
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. Which material comes from the fleece of sheep and is spun into warm yarn: wool or nylon?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
2. Which property of metals allows them to be drawn out into long thin wires (such as copper wire): ductility or brittleness?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
3. Why are cooking saucepans usually made of metal with a wooden or plastic handle: metal conducts heat while wood/plastic is an insulator, or wood melts easily?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
4. Which material is attracted to a magnet: iron (steel) or wooden pine?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
5. What do we call a mixture of two or more elements, where at least one is a metal (such as bronze made from copper and tin, or steel from iron and carbon): an alloy or a solvent?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
6. Why is stainless steel used for surgical instruments and kitchen sinks: it resists rust and corrosion, or it dissolves in cold water?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
7. Which natural material comes from the trunks of trees and floats on water: wood or granite?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
8. When sugar dissolves in water, which substance is the solvent and which is the solute: water is the solvent and sugar is the solute, or sugar is the solvent?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
9. Why is expanded polystyrene or woollen fleece used as thermal insulation: trapped air pockets slow down heat transfer, or it generates electricity?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
10. What do we call a material that blocks all light from passing through (such as a wooden door): opaque or transparent?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
11. Which natural plant fibre grows in fluffy bolls and is woven into breathable shirts: cotton or aluminium?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
12. Which property describes a material like a rubber band that stretches when pulled and returns to its original shape: elastic or rigid?
Material Properties Test · Rigid · Flexible · Waterproof
12 questions · Seed 71 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Everyday materials & properties
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. Which material comes from the fleece of sheep and is spun into warm yarn: wool or nylon?
Wool
Wool is a natural animal fibre that traps air for insulation.
2. Which property of metals allows them to be drawn out into long thin wires (such as copper wire): ductility or brittleness?
Ductility
Ductile materials can be stretched into wire under tension.
3. Why are cooking saucepans usually made of metal with a wooden or plastic handle: metal conducts heat while wood/plastic is an insulator, or wood melts easily?
Metal conducts heat while wood/plastic is an insulator
Metals transfer heat to the food, while insulating handles stay cool enough to hold.
4. Which material is attracted to a magnet: iron (steel) or wooden pine?
Iron (steel)
Iron and steel are ferromagnetic metals; wood is non-magnetic.
5. What do we call a mixture of two or more elements, where at least one is a metal (such as bronze made from copper and tin, or steel from iron and carbon): an alloy or a solvent?
Alloy
Alloying combines metals to improve strength, hardness or corrosion resistance.
6. Why is stainless steel used for surgical instruments and kitchen sinks: it resists rust and corrosion, or it dissolves in cold water?
It resists rust and corrosion
Chromium in stainless steel forms a protective oxide film that prevents rusting.
7. Which natural material comes from the trunks of trees and floats on water: wood or granite?
Wood
Timber is harvested from trees and is less dense than water, so it floats.
8. When sugar dissolves in water, which substance is the solvent and which is the solute: water is the solvent and sugar is the solute, or sugar is the solvent?
Water is the solvent and sugar is the solute
The liquid that does the dissolving is the solvent; the dissolved solid is the solute.
9. Why is expanded polystyrene or woollen fleece used as thermal insulation: trapped air pockets slow down heat transfer, or it generates electricity?
Trapped air pockets slow down heat transfer
Still air is a poor conductor of heat, so materials that trap air insulate well.
10. What do we call a material that blocks all light from passing through (such as a wooden door): opaque or transparent?
Opaque
Opaque materials do not allow light to pass through.
11. Which natural plant fibre grows in fluffy bolls and is woven into breathable shirts: cotton or aluminium?
Cotton
Cotton fibres are harvested from cotton plants and woven into fabric.
12. Which property describes a material like a rubber band that stretches when pulled and returns to its original shape: elastic or rigid?
Elastic
Elastic materials deform under force and spring back when released.
12 questions · Seed 71 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification