What makes metals special, and why do we choose particular metals for particular jobs?
Describe the common properties of metals and explain how those properties decide the everyday uses of metals such as copper, aluminium and steel
A practical answer to the N(T) Science point on metals. Common metal properties such as strength, conducting heat and electricity, and how they decide everyday uses of copper, aluminium and steel.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point wants you to describe the common properties that most metals share, and then explain how those properties decide what each metal is used for in everyday life. You should be able to link a property (like conducting electricity, conducting heat, or being strong) to a real use (like wires, saucepans, or buildings). The big idea is simple but powerful: we choose a material for a job by matching the property to what the job needs. Metals are chosen so often because their properties are so useful.
The answer
The common properties of metals
Most metals share a set of useful properties. Knowing them lets you explain almost any use of a metal.
- Metals are good conductors of electricity: they let an electric current flow through them easily.
- Metals are good conductors of heat: heat passes through them quickly.
- Metals are usually strong and hard, so they can carry weight without breaking.
- Metals are often shiny when polished, which looks attractive.
- Metals can be bent and pulled into shape without snapping. Being bendable into sheets is called being malleable, and being pulled into wires is called being ductile.
- Metals usually have a high melting point, so they stay solid even when they get hot.
Not every metal has every property to the same degree, which is exactly why we have a choice.
Copper and its uses
Copper is an excellent conductor of both electricity and heat, and it can be drawn into thin wires.
Because it conducts electricity so well, copper is used for electrical wiring in homes and inside plugs. Because it also conducts heat very well, copper is used in the base of good saucepans and in hot-water pipes. Its main property in use is being a great conductor.
Aluminium and its uses
Aluminium is special because it is very light (low in weight for its size) yet still reasonably strong, and it does not rust.
Because it is light and strong, aluminium is used in aeroplane bodies, bicycle frames and drink cans. Because it does not rust and conducts heat well, it is used for cooking foil and window frames. Its main properties in use are being lightweight and resistant to rusting.
Steel and its uses
Steel is mostly iron with a little carbon added, which makes it much stronger and harder than iron on its own. A material like steel, made by mixing metals (or a metal with another element), is called an alloy.
Because it is so strong, steel is used to build bridges, the frames of tall buildings, cars and railway tracks. Stainless steel, which does not rust, is used for cutlery, sinks and saucepans. The main property of steel in use is its great strength.
Matching property to use
The pattern is always the same: look at what the job needs, then pick the metal whose properties fit. Wires need to conduct electricity, so we use copper. Aeroplanes need to be light and not rust, so we use aluminium. Bridges need to be strong, so we use steel.
Examples in context
Example 1. The wiring and pan in a kitchen. A kitchen shows the rule perfectly. The copper wires in the wall conduct electricity to the sockets, the stainless steel sink is strong and does not rust, and the saucepan has a copper or aluminium base to spread heat while its plastic handle stays cool to hold. Each material was chosen for a different property.
Example 2. A drinks can versus a car body. A drinks can is made of thin aluminium because it must be light to carry, easy to shape, and must not rust and spoil the drink. A car body is made mostly of steel because it must be strong to protect the people inside. Same idea, different needs, different metal.
Try this
Cue. Name the property of copper that makes it good for hot-water pipes. Copper is a good conductor of heat (and it can be shaped into pipes), so heat passes through it easily.
Cue. Explain why aluminium, not steel, is used for drink cans and cooking foil. Aluminium is light and does not rust, so it keeps the contents safe and is easy to carry and shape.
Cue. A bridge must hold heavy lorries without breaking. Name a suitable metal and the property that makes it suitable. Steel is suitable because it is very strong, so it can carry heavy weight without breaking.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SEAB exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Original4 marksElectrical wires are usually made from copper coated in plastic. (a) Name the property of copper that makes it suitable for the wire. (b) Explain why the plastic coating is used instead of more metal. (c) Give one other everyday use of copper that depends on the same property.Show worked answer →
(a) Copper is a good conductor of electricity, so it lets the electric current flow through the wire easily.
(b) Plastic is an insulator, meaning it does not let electricity pass through. The plastic coating stops the current escaping and protects the user from electric shock.
(c) Any sensible use that relies on conducting electricity, for example the copper connections inside plugs, or the copper tracks on a circuit board.
What markers reward: naming "good conductor of electricity" for copper, explaining the plastic as an insulator that prevents shocks, and giving another use that depends on conducting electricity.
Original3 marksA saucepan is made of stainless steel but has a copper base, and the handle is plastic. (a) State why a metal is used for the pan instead of plastic. (b) Explain why the handle is made of plastic. (c) Suggest why a copper base might be added.Show worked answer →
(a) Metal is used for the pan because it is a good conductor of heat, so heat passes quickly from the stove into the food, and metal is strong and does not melt at cooking temperatures.
(b) The handle is plastic because plastic is a poor conductor of heat (a heat insulator), so the handle stays cool enough to hold safely.
(c) Copper is an even better conductor of heat than steel, so a copper base spreads the heat quickly and evenly across the bottom of the pan.
What markers reward: linking the metal pan to conducting heat and being strong, the plastic handle to being a poor heat conductor, and copper to being an excellent heat conductor.
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