AQA Engineering GCSE 9-1
Strength - ANS- The ability of a material to resist an applied force.
Tensile strength - ANS- The maximum pulling/stretching force a material can withstand
before failure.
Yield strength - ANS- The amount of stress at which the material can withstand before
failure.
Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) - ANS- The amount of stress at which a material breaks.
Compressive strength - ANS- The resistance of a material under a compressive/pushing
force.
Ductility - ANS- The amount that a material can be deformed.
Malleability - ANS- The ability of a substance to be deformed without rupturing or
splitting.
Hardness - ANS- The ability of a material to resist wear and abrasion.
Toughness - ANS- The ability of a material to withstand an impact without breaking.
Brittleness - ANS- The potential for a material to shatter when it experiences an impact.
Stiffness - ANS- The ability of a material to resist bending.
Metal - ANS- A type of material made by processing an ore that has been mined or
quarried.
Ore - ANS- Typically, an oxide of a metal, in the form of a rock.
Alloy - ANS- A mixture of two or more metals (or a metal with another element).
Ferrous - ANS- A material that contains iron.
Non-ferrous - ANS- A material that does not contain iron.
Ferrous alloys - ANS- Cast iron, low-carbon steel, high-carbon steel, stainless steel.
Non-ferrous metals - ANS- Aluminium and its alloys, copper, brass, bronze, lead, zinc.
, Cold working - ANS- Repeatedly bending or hammering a metal.
Work hardening - ANS- An increase in the strength and hardness of a metal due to cold
working.
Annealing - ANS- A heat treatment that makes a metal softer and easier to work.
Normalising - ANS- A heat treatment that results in metal that is tough with some
ductility.
Quenching - ANS- The rapid cooling of a hot metal by immersing it in a liquid, often oil or
brine.
Tempering - ANS- A heat treatment to remove some of the brittleness in a hardened
steel, at the cost of some hardness.
Hardening - ANS- A heat treatment that increases the hardness and strength of a
material due to a change in the arrangement of the atoms within it.
Carburising - ANS- The addition of carbon to the surface of a low-carbon steel to
improve hardness and strength.
Corrosion - ANS- A reaction between the surface of a material and its environment that
eats away some of the material.
Available forms of metals - ANS- Flat strip, round bar or rod, square bar, hexagon bar,
angle, sheet, round tube, channel, rectangular tube.
Polymer - ANS- A type of material made from a large number of similar, smaller chemical
units that are bonded together.
Thermoplastic - ANS- A type of polymer that can be reshaped when heated.
Thermosetting polymer - ANS- A type of polymer with crosslinks between the polymer
chains; it cannot be reshaped when heated.
Thermoplastics - ANS- ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), acrylic, nylon,
polycarbonate, polystyrene.
Thermosetting polymers - ANS- Epoxy, polyester resin, melamine resin, polyurethane,
vulcanised rubber.
Strength - ANS- The ability of a material to resist an applied force.
Tensile strength - ANS- The maximum pulling/stretching force a material can withstand
before failure.
Yield strength - ANS- The amount of stress at which the material can withstand before
failure.
Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) - ANS- The amount of stress at which a material breaks.
Compressive strength - ANS- The resistance of a material under a compressive/pushing
force.
Ductility - ANS- The amount that a material can be deformed.
Malleability - ANS- The ability of a substance to be deformed without rupturing or
splitting.
Hardness - ANS- The ability of a material to resist wear and abrasion.
Toughness - ANS- The ability of a material to withstand an impact without breaking.
Brittleness - ANS- The potential for a material to shatter when it experiences an impact.
Stiffness - ANS- The ability of a material to resist bending.
Metal - ANS- A type of material made by processing an ore that has been mined or
quarried.
Ore - ANS- Typically, an oxide of a metal, in the form of a rock.
Alloy - ANS- A mixture of two or more metals (or a metal with another element).
Ferrous - ANS- A material that contains iron.
Non-ferrous - ANS- A material that does not contain iron.
Ferrous alloys - ANS- Cast iron, low-carbon steel, high-carbon steel, stainless steel.
Non-ferrous metals - ANS- Aluminium and its alloys, copper, brass, bronze, lead, zinc.
, Cold working - ANS- Repeatedly bending or hammering a metal.
Work hardening - ANS- An increase in the strength and hardness of a metal due to cold
working.
Annealing - ANS- A heat treatment that makes a metal softer and easier to work.
Normalising - ANS- A heat treatment that results in metal that is tough with some
ductility.
Quenching - ANS- The rapid cooling of a hot metal by immersing it in a liquid, often oil or
brine.
Tempering - ANS- A heat treatment to remove some of the brittleness in a hardened
steel, at the cost of some hardness.
Hardening - ANS- A heat treatment that increases the hardness and strength of a
material due to a change in the arrangement of the atoms within it.
Carburising - ANS- The addition of carbon to the surface of a low-carbon steel to
improve hardness and strength.
Corrosion - ANS- A reaction between the surface of a material and its environment that
eats away some of the material.
Available forms of metals - ANS- Flat strip, round bar or rod, square bar, hexagon bar,
angle, sheet, round tube, channel, rectangular tube.
Polymer - ANS- A type of material made from a large number of similar, smaller chemical
units that are bonded together.
Thermoplastic - ANS- A type of polymer that can be reshaped when heated.
Thermosetting polymer - ANS- A type of polymer with crosslinks between the polymer
chains; it cannot be reshaped when heated.
Thermoplastics - ANS- ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), acrylic, nylon,
polycarbonate, polystyrene.
Thermosetting polymers - ANS- Epoxy, polyester resin, melamine resin, polyurethane,
vulcanised rubber.
