Everyday Materials

Everything around you is made of something. That something is called a material. When we meet a new thing we play a little game: first we name the material, then we describe it.

Here are the materials you meet every day. Say each name out loud:

Wood — chairs, tables, pencils, spoons and toys.
Metal — spoons, keys, tins, coins and cars.
Plastic — bottles, toys, buckets and cups.
Glass — windows, jars, cups and mirrors.
Paper and card — books, drawings and boxes.
Fabric (cloth) — clothes, curtains, socks and towels.
Rubber — tyres, wellies, bouncy balls and erasers.
Rock and stone — walls, steps and statues.

Point at things near you. Can you name the material each one is made of?

Then describe it

Now the fun part. To describe a material we ask lots of little questions. Every material gives its own answers.

Is it hard or soft? A rock is hard. A sock is soft.
Is it rough or smooth? Bark is rough. Glass is smooth.
Is it shiny or dull? A spoon is shiny. Paper is dull.
Is it bendy or stiff? A rubber band is bendy. A brick is stiff.
Can you see through it, or not? You can see through glass, but not wood.
Is it waterproof, or does it soak up water? A wellie keeps water out. A paper towel drinks it up.
Is it heavy or light? A stone is heavy. A feather is light.
Does it stick to a magnet? Only metal can — and not even all metal!

Where does it come from?

Every material starts somewhere. Isn't that surprising?

Wood comes from trees. We cut it and shape it.
Paper comes from trees too — wood mashed up soft and pressed flat.
Metal comes from special rocks dug out of the ground, then melted.
Glass is made from sand! We heat sand until it melts, and it turns clear.
Rubber can come from a sticky juice inside some trees.
Fabric can come from plants (like cotton) or from animals (like wool from sheep).
Rock and stone are just cut straight out of the ground.

So a glass window began as sand, and a wooden chair began as a tree. Wow.

Both glass and a brick are hard and solid. So why does light zoom straight through the glass, but stop dead at the brick? It's all about how tidy the tiny bits inside are.

In glass the tiny bits are lined up smooth and clear, so light slips right through — like running down an empty hallway. In a brick the tiny bits are jumbled and bumpy, so the light keeps bouncing about and never comes out the other side — like a hallway crammed with people. That is what see-through and not see-through really mean.

Try it yourself

Pick a material and look at the row of lamps. A bright lamp means the material is that way. A dim lamp means it is not.

Glass is smooth, shiny and see-through — three bright lamps! Metal lights up the magnet lamp all on its own. Fabric is soft and bendy, so most of its lamps stay dim. Try them all and see who lights up what.

Look around the room

Materials are everywhere. Go on a hunt:

The window is glass — smooth, see-through and waterproof.
Your jumper is fabric — soft, bendy and warm.
The door handle is metal — hard, shiny and cold.
Your drink bottle is plastic — light, bendy and waterproof.
This book is paper — thin, light and easy to bend.
A bouncy ball is rubber — bendy, bouncy and waterproof.

Here is a fun secret: one object can use lots of materials at once. A shoe has a rubber sole, a fabric top and metal eyelets for the laces. A pencil is wood on the outside, with a different stuff inside for the writing bit. Clever!

A material is what something is made of — not the thing itself.

A spoon is the object. Metal is the material (or it could be wood, or plastic).
The same material can be made into lots of things: metal makes spoons, keys, coins and cars.
One object can be made from several materials at once, like a shoe.

Touch a metal spoon and a wooden spoon that have been sitting in the same warm room. The metal one feels cold and the wooden one feels warm — but here's the trick: they are both exactly the same warmth!

Metal is very good at pulling heat. When you touch it, it quickly drinks the warmth out of your hand, and your hand feels that as "cold". Wood is bad at pulling heat, so it leaves your hand's warmth alone and feels cosy. The metal was never colder — it just steals your warmth faster. That is why the fridge door and the tap feel so chilly!