Choosing materials for the job
Every material has strengths and weaknesses, and part of good design is matching the material to what the product actually needs to do.
Part of your national curriculum
- Make: Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials and components, taking into account their properties
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials and components, taking into account their properties
Key learning points
- • Key material properties
- • Common material categories
- • Sustainability in material choice
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 14 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 14
Watch first
Choosing materials for the job
An English teaching video on this topic from Mrs Williams. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials and components, taking into account their properties
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 14
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Key material properties
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 14
Learn
Key material properties
Designers consider properties such as strength (resistance to breaking), hardness (resistance to scratching or denting), flexibility (ability to bend without breaking) and durability (resistance to wear over time). A material perfect for one job, like glass being transparent, might be entirely wrong for another, like a phone case, because glass is brittle.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 14
Learn
Common material categories
Materials are often grouped as woods (natural, e.g. pine, oak), metals (e.g. aluminium, steel), polymers/plastics (e.g. acrylic, HDPE) and composites (combinations, like fibreglass, that gain properties neither material has alone). Each category has typical uses based on its properties — aluminium is light and corrosion-resistant, which is why it's used in aircraft and drink cans.
Quick check
Part 5 of 14
Quick check
What does 'flexibility' mean as a material property?
Reset break
Part 6 of 14
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 7 of 14
Quick check
Why is aluminium commonly used for drink cans and aircraft?
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 14
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Sustainability in material choice
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 14
Learn
Sustainability in material choice
Modern designers also weigh up sustainability: is the material recyclable, biodegradable or from a renewable source? Choosing responsibly sourced wood or recycled plastic over virgin plastic can reduce a product's environmental impact without sacrificing function.
Quick check
Part 10 of 14
Quick check
Which is a genuine sustainability consideration in material choice?
Challenge round
Part 11 of 14
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 12 of 14
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
____ are often grouped as woods (natural, e.g.
Mastery quiz
Part 13 of 14
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Choosing materials for the job
3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What does 'flexibility' mean as a material property?
2. Why is aluminium commonly used for drink cans and aircraft?
3. Which is a genuine sustainability consideration in material choice?
Lesson round-up
Part 14 of 14
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Best run
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Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Why the first prototype broke
A team designed a phone stand from 3 mm plywood. The brief said it must hold a 200 g phone at 60° and survive being knocked. The first prototype looked right but snapped at the joint after two knocks.
The team tested again and found the grain of the plywood ran across the narrowest part of the joint, so the wood split along it. They widened the joint from 8 mm to 20 mm, turned the piece so the grain ran along the load, and added a small fillet at the corner to spread the force.
The second prototype survived twenty knocks. It used 15% more material and took four minutes longer to cut — a trade-off the team recorded in their evaluation.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Name the fault in the first prototype and explain why it happened.
- List the three changes the team made and what each one does.
- Write an evaluation of the second prototype against the brief, including the trade-off.
Design sheet
DiagramSketch two ideas with measurements and notes, then photograph the sheet.
2 labelled sketches
Evaluation
WritingWrite how well your idea meets the brief and what you would change next time.
6–8 sentences
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover
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Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials and components, taking into account their properties