Testing and Selecting Materials

Start with the materials

Begin with a mind map titled Materials to see how the page brings materials and their properties together. Several maps share this title, but their branches differ. Look for one that includes metals, polymers, ceramics and composites, then follow the branches that interest you.

The maps also list more specific groups. For example, some separate metals into ferrous, non-ferrous and pure materials, or polymers into thermosets and thermoplastics. Use these branches to practice recognizing the terms and seeing how they relate to the broader material groups.

Move on to testing

Next, open Types of Materials. Its branches include tensile testing, hardness and non-destructive testing, alongside types of materials. Other maps titled Materials also include testing branches, with terms such as Rockwell, Brinell and Vickers.

Compare the testing terms across the maps. You could cover a branch and try to recall what it lists, then check the map. The page has no quizzes, so the maps offer a way to make your own questions from the terms shown. The listed flashcard provides another format to explore.

Connect the topic to the unit

Testing and Selecting Materials is a section of Materials and Their Properties in Design and technology. The maps connect this section to the unit by placing materials, properties and testing on the same page. The map titled Material Selection offers another starting point for exploring selection.

For school students, moving between the material groups and testing branches can help organize the terms on this page. Teachers can use the same maps as material for discussion. Choose a map and follow a branch from a material group to its testing terms.