Now read the article and compare your ideas with what it says about the topics

SPEAKING

Work in pairs. Discuss these questions.

1. What is a materials engineering?

2. What is the brief classification of engineering materials internationally?

3. How do you know which material is best for a particular product or need?

4. How do the properties of materials determine their use?

5. What determines if new materials need to be developed?

VOCABULARY

2. Replace the words in italics with the correct form of the synonyms in the box.

benefits	composition	structures
components	characteristics	steel
requirements	materials	response

1. Materials can be described and classified according to the following physical properties: size, shape, mass, texture, color, and material formations.

2. The constructions of materials determine their properties.

3. The properties of a mixture are based on the properties of its constituent.

4. When substances interact within a closed system, the total mass of the system remains the same.

5. People develop new materials as an answer to the needs of society and the pursuit of knowledge.

6. The development of new materials may have risks and advantages to humans and environment.

7. Materials engineers work with metals, ceramics, plastics, semiconductors, and composites to create new materials that meet certain mechanical, electrical, and chemical needs.

8. Materials engineers have developed the ability to create and then study materials at an atomic level, using advanced processes to replicate the features of materials and their components with computers.

9. Most materials engineers specialize in a particular material. For example, metallurgical engineers specialize in metals such as cast iron, and ceramic engineers develop ceramic materials and the processes for making them into useful products such as glassware or fiber optic communication lines.

READING

You are going to read the extract about engineering materials and their properties.

Before you read work in pairs, discuss how the twelve phrases in bold are connected to the headline of the extract.

Before you read, discuss what you know about any of the following.

• classification of engineering materials

• mechanical properties of materials

• chemical properties of materials

• metals and their properties

• semiconductors and their properties

• ceramics and their properties

• polymers and their properties

• nanoengineered materials

5. Decide what you understand by the term ‘biomaterials’ and what categories of materials listed in Activity 4 can be used as biomaterials.

Now read the article and compare your ideas with what it says about the topics.