What are smart and modern materials, and how do they respond to stimuli or deliver outstanding properties?
Smart materials (shape memory alloys, thermochromic, photochromic and electrochromic materials, piezoelectric and electroluminescent materials) and modern materials (Kevlar, graphene, nanomaterials, polymorph, technical textiles), defined by stimulus and response or by an outstanding property.
A focused answer to Eduqas A-Level Product Design on smart and modern materials: shape memory alloys, thermochromic, photochromic and electrochromic pigments, piezoelectric and electroluminescent materials, plus modern materials such as Kevlar, graphene, nanomaterials and polymorph, each linked to a stimulus and response or an outstanding property.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to define smart and modern materials, name examples, and explain how each works: a smart material by its stimulus and response, a modern material by its outstanding property. These materials enable products that older materials could not, so questions reward linking the material to what it does and to a real product.
What makes a material "smart"
The main smart materials
Modern materials
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20194 marksDefine a smart material, and for two named smart materials state the stimulus they respond to and one product that uses each.Show worked answer →
A Component 1 short-answer question. Marks for the definition and for each material with stimulus and product.
A smart material changes one of its properties in a controllable, usually reversible way in response to an external stimulus (heat, light, electricity, stress or pH). Two examples: a shape memory alloy (such as Nitinol) responds to heat by returning to a remembered shape, used in spectacle frames and medical stents; a thermochromic pigment responds to temperature by changing colour, used in a kettle indicator or a battery tester.
Award marks for linking each material to its stimulus and a real product. A common dropped mark is naming a smart material but not stating the stimulus, which is what defines it.
Eduqas 20216 marksDiscuss how smart and modern materials can be used to improve a sports product. Refer to named materials and explain the benefit of each.Show worked answer →
A Component 1 extended question marked by levels of response. Reward named materials, their action, and the benefit to the product.
Modern materials: Kevlar (very high strength-to-weight) for protective padding and cut-resistant gloves; carbon fibre and graphene for stiff, light frames and rackets. Smart materials: thermochromic pigments to show overheating grips; piezoelectric sensors to measure impact or generate small voltages from movement; phase-change or technical textiles to manage sweat and temperature.
Each should be tied to a benefit: lighter and stronger equipment, user feedback, comfort. A top answer names the materials, explains the action (stimulus and response for smart materials, the outstanding property for modern materials), weighs cost and recyclability, and judges which gives the greatest improvement, reaching a clear conclusion.
Related dot points
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- Electronic systems as input, process and output, input sensors (switches, LDR, thermistor) and the potential divider, process subsystems (transistors, comparators, logic gates, timers) and how a system senses a condition and decides a response.
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Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A Level Design and Technology specification (Product Design) — Eduqas (2017)