Fantastic Plastic
This Catalyst article looks at the use of polymers in the manufacture of household items. The exciting thing about polymers is that it is possible to make polymers behave in so many different ways by organising their long chain molecules in different ways – polymers are the ultimate designer material. The article looks at their…
5/5- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Article
It's a Material World
A Catalyst article about working in materials science and engineering, the process of deciding which material is best for each application. The structure of materials, processing them and working in jobs and careers with them are explained. This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2007, Volume 17, Issue 3. Catalyst…
Biomimetics
A Catalyst article describing how new materials can be designed by studying natural materials and how they work. In particular the development of Velcro, military fabric, swimwear and waterproofing is looked at. These products were developed by scientific study of natural products such as plant burrs, pinecones, sharks skins and…
Product Design (Resistant Materials)
A Nuffield design hexagon task focusing on product design (using resistant materials). Aiming to extend understanding of how to evaluate a design by thinking how it affects people and whether it performs as expected. This resource contains a number of activities for each side of the design hexagon (student pages and resource tasks). In…