The big idea: Materials are also classified by their source or origin: natural or human-made.
Natural materials are taken from living or geological sources and processed. Human-made materials are manufactured from refined or synthesised feedstock.
The families on each side — and, in the later steps, the four structure types this statement also covers.
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Natural
- Timbers — oak, pine, bamboo
- Textiles — cotton, wool, linen (though many are synthetic)
- Biomaterials — mycelium, PLA, starch foams
- Usually renewable, often biodegradable
- But: properties vary between samples
Human-made
- Metals — refined from ore: steel, aluminium
- Polymers — ABS, PP, PET
- Glass, composites, smart materials
- Manufactured to a specification, so properties are consistent
- But: energy and extraction behind them, and most do not break down
The line is not sharp: A textile may be natural or synthetic. A composite may contain both. Source alone never decides a selection — it is one input among the properties.
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This statement also asks you to discuss structures — how a product carries its loads. It is a separate idea from source, sharing one statement.
Frame
Shell
Solid
Combination
How this is tested — classifying by source, and identifying frame, shell, solid and combination structures. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Classify a named material as natural or human-made.
- Identify the structure type of a described product.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Discuss the structures used in a named product.
- Explain why a designer chose a frame over a shell.
The trap: Giving one structure label for a whole product. Almost every product is a combination — say which part is which, and why each type suits that part.
A folding garden chair has a tubular metal frame, a moulded seat pan and solid plastic feet. Analyse the structures used and why each suits its part.
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