A material is anything made of matter. This includes everything we can see, from water to our own skin. But often when we use the word “materials” we mean materials that are used to make into useful things, such as crockery, a toy or a spacecraft. Natural materials are those that come from animals, plants or from substances found in the Earth. Manmade, or synthetic, materials, such as plastics, are produced from natural materials by heating or other processes.

Plastic

Plastic is a manmade material that has many uses. It is long-lasting and easy to make into different shapes. When heated, it melts into a thick liquid. This can be poured into moulds to form whatever shape is needed, then allowed to harden. The most commonly used plastic is called polyethylene. It is found in bags, containers and bottles. It is made from the natural gas ethylene, which is produced from oil.

Paper is made from wood. The wood is cut up into small chips. These are then cooked with chemicals to make the fibres soft. This mixture is called pulp. The pulp is pressed between rollers to make it flat, then dried. The fibres grow hard again.

Wool

Wool comes from the soft hair, called a fleece, of sheep and goats. The fleece is cut off, or shorn, from the animals, then washed. The fibres are untangled and combed in a carding machine. They are then stretched and twisted together to form long threads called yarn. This is called spinning. The woollen yarn can then be woven or knittted to make clothes.

China and pottery, sometimes called ceramics, are made by shaping and then heating clay. This a soft, sticky mixture of fine rock fragments. First the clay is mixed with water to make it flexible. Then it is formed into shapes, or turned, on a potter’s wheel, or poured into a mould. The clay shapes are then hardened by firing (baking) them in a kiln. The pottery is then decorated and given a shiny finish called a glaze. The glaze also makes the pottery waterproof.

Glass

Glass is made by melting together three materials: sand, limestone and soda ash. The molten (melted) glass mixture is either poured into a mould, or blown into hollow shapes. It can be shaped into flat sheets by being poured into a bath of molten tin. It is then moved over rollers to cool slowly.

Glass can be drawn out into long threads through fine holes in the bottom of a furnace. The glass fibres can be used to make optical fibres for telecommunications. They can also be mixed with plastic to make fibreglass. This is an extremely strong material, ideal for making vehicles, boats, helmets and roofing.

Concrete

Concrete is the most widely used manmade material. It is used in construction, from building walls and foundations to bridges and dams. Concrete is made from aggregate (sand, gravel and crushed stone) mixed with water and cement. It can be poured into a mould, where it sets to become hard and stone-like.