Materials for design

It is essential that products used in our everyday lives are fit for purpose. To design a product which will be useful to the customer it is important to understand how different products function and why different materials and components are suitable for different applications.

With this in mind, students will dismantle an engineering product to help them better understand its construction and function. They will then use this experience to create a test that will help in choosing which materials are fit for purpose when designing a new product.

This is one of a set of resources developed to aid the teaching of the secondary national curriculum, particularly KS3, supporting the teaching in design and technology (DT). The lesson accompanies our Reverse engineering activity, which should ideally be completed before this lesson.

Activity: Choosing materials for a new design

In this activity students will be given a pair of headphones to dismantle (this must be done carefully, as the headphones will need reassembling afterwards!).

Using our Product investigation booklet, students will conduct a product analysis to investigate its construction. They will be asked to create a test that will help manufactures determine if different materials are fit for purpose to aid choosing materials for new designs.

Download our activity overview for a detailed lesson plan for teaching students about design materials.

The engineering context

Engineers may choose to review older products, or competitor products, in order to help them choose materials for certain design or engineering projects. These materials may be the same as what has already been used in what they’ve examined, or the examination may lead them towards producing superior materials.

Suggested learning outcomes

At the end of this lesson students will be able to effectively dismantle and investigate an engineered product to determine how it was made along with its function/purpose.

Download our activity sheet and other teaching resources

The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

Download our classroom lesson plan and presentation below.

Please do share your highlights with us @IETeducation.