The big idea: A mechanical property describes how a material behaves when a force is applied.
Each one is defined by a different test — pulled, squashed, bent, struck, scratched, hammered, released, drawn out. Learn the test and the definition comes with it.
Every property drawn as its own test. The last step is the four confusions examiners rely on.
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| Property | The test | Where it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | Pull it apart until it breaks | Climbing rope, bridge cable, bike spoke |
| Compressive strength | Squash it until it crushes | Concrete column, brick, chair leg |
| Stiffness | Load a beam and measure the sag | A diving board is strong and deliberately not stiff |
| Toughness | Strike it sharply | A hard hat is tough; glass is not |
| Hardness | Drag a harder point across it | Phone screen, drill bit, worktop |
| Malleability | Hammer it into sheet | Aluminium foil, pressed car panel |
| Elasticity | Stretch it and let go | Rubber band, spring, running-shoe sole |
| Ductility | Draw it into a wire | Copper cable, steel wire rope |
Plasticity, the ninth: Plasticity is the opposite of elasticity: the material deforms under load and stays deformed. A paperclip you bend has passed from elastic to plastic behaviour — which is exactly what makes it useful.
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These four pairs are the most examined confusion in the whole subject. Learn them as pairs, with the example attached.
Strong ≠ stiff
Hard ≠ tough
Elastic ≠ plastic
Malleable ≠ ductile
How this is tested — explaining the mechanical properties and distinguishing the pairs that are confused. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Identify the property a described test measures.
- Pick the property a product requirement needs.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Explain the mechanical properties needed by parts of a product.
- Distinguish between two properties students confuse.
The trap: Using strong as a catch-all. Say which strength — tensile or compressive — or say stiffness, toughness or hardness if that is what you mean.
Explain the mechanical properties required by the shell and the strap of a cycle helmet.
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