Eduqas GCSE Design and Technology: materials and their properties - a complete overview

What this topic actually demands

Materials and their properties is the technical heart of Eduqas C600. It sits in Section A as core knowledge of all six material categories, and one category becomes your Section B in-depth area. The marks come from knowing each material's physical and working properties, sources and uses precisely enough to apply them to a product, and from costing materials accurately.

This guide walks through the material categories and the selection and costing skills in specification order, then sets out the Eduqas exam patterns. Each subtopic has a matching dot-point page with worked exam questions; this overview ties them together.

Papers and boards

Papers and boards are made from cellulose fibres and measured by weight in gsm (above about 200 gsm it is board or card) and thickness in microns. Types run from layout and cartridge paper (sketching) through card and mounting board (models) to corrugated card (protective packaging, with a fluted middle) and foam board (rigid bases). Most are recyclable, a sustainability advantage.

Timbers

Timber is hardwood (broadleaved, slow-growing, dense, dearer: oak, beech), softwood (coniferous, fast-growing, cheaper: pine, spruce) or manufactured board (plywood, MDF, chipboard). The hardwood/softwood split is botanical, not about hardness. Manufactured boards give large, stable, knot-free sheets, which is why flat-pack furniture uses them. Timber is renewable from managed (FSC) forests.

Metals

Metals are ferrous (contain iron, rust, magnetic: mild steel, cast iron) or non-ferrous (no iron, do not rust: aluminium, copper, brass). An alloy mixes metals to improve properties (steel, brass, stainless steel). Metals conduct heat and electricity, are malleable and ductile, and are highly recyclable, which matters because extraction from ore is energy-intensive.

Polymers

Polymers are mostly from crude oil and split into thermoplastics (soften and reshape repeatedly, recyclable: acrylic, polypropylene, PET) and thermosets (set hard permanently, heat-resistant, hard to recycle: epoxy, melamine, urea formaldehyde). They are light, corrosion-proof, good insulators and easily moulded, which is why they dominate consumer products.

Textiles

Textiles start as natural fibres (plant or animal: cotton, wool, breathable but crease and shrink), synthetic fibres (manmade from oil: polyester, nylon, strong and quick-dry but not biodegradable), or blends that combine both. Fibres become fabric by weaving (strong, stable), knitting (stretchy) or bonding (non-woven, cheap, disposable).

Selecting and costing materials

Select a material by matching its properties to the product, then buy it in a stock form (sheet, bar, rod, tube, section). Costing multiplies the quantity used (plus a waste allowance) by the price per unit, a set C600 maths skill where working and units carry the marks.

The exam patterns Eduqas repeats

Component 1 tests this topic with short recall (name a property, a source), property-distinction questions (hardness versus toughness, ferrous versus non-ferrous, thermoplastic versus thermoset), Explain questions justifying a material for a product, and costing and waste calculations. Section B goes deeper into one category's sources, properties, processes and finishes. Always justify a choice with a property and show working in calculations.

For the official specification

WJEC Eduqas publishes the full specification (C600), past papers and mark schemes at eduqas.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and Eduqas's own materials, because question style and command words are board-specific.