What's covered
Key facts
Carbon fibre is a strong, lightweight composite used in racing cars and aircraft.
A ceramic is a hard, brittle, heat-resistant material usually made by heating clay or other minerals (e.g. pottery, mugs, tiles, brick).
A composite is a material made from two or more different materials combined to give better properties than either material alone.
Concrete is a composite made from cement and aggregate (sand and stones), combining good compressive strength with low cost.
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the polymer most commonly used to make clear plastic drinks bottles.
Polymers such as polyethylene are useful because they are strong, light, cheap and easily moulded into shape.
A polymer is a very long molecule made of many small repeating units called monomers joined in a chain.
Recycling polymers is important because it saves finite raw materials (crude oil) and reduces the amount of plastic waste sent to landfill.
Kitchen tiles and mugs are made from clay-based pottery, a common ceramic.
Sample questions
A taste of the 10 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What is a polymer?
- •Liquid that thickens when heated
- ✓Long chain of repeating units (monomers)
- •Mixture of two different metals
- •Solid clay heated to harden
What is the most common polymer used in plastic bottles?
- •nylon (a polyamide plastic)
- ✓PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
- •polystyrene (PS)
- •PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
Why are polymers like polyethylene useful?
- •Conduct electricity well
- •Melt at very low temperatures
- ✓Strong, light, cheap, mouldable
- •Very heavy and rigid
What is a ceramic?
- •Conductive metal alloy
- •Glassy liquid at room temperature
- ✓Hard, brittle, heat-resistant material
- •Soft, flexible plastic
What is a composite material?
- •A liquid mixed with a gas under pressure
- •A single very pure metal element in nature
- •An element straight from the periodic table
- ✓Two or more materials combined for better properties
What composite is concrete an example of?
- •carbon fibre + resin
- ✓cement + aggregate
- •glass + polymer
- •iron + carbon
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