Lucy
Ask the AI Tutor
Need help with Materials - Properties (Describing)? Ask our AI Tutor!
Lucy AI Tutor - Lucy
Connecting with Tutor...
Please wait while we establish connection
Lucy
Hi! I'm Lucy, your AI tutor. How can I help you with Materials - Properties (Describing) today?
now
Materials - Properties (Describing)
Have you ever seen a mirror-ball? They are very shiny!

Materials - Properties (Describing)

Explore how we describe materials in KS1 Science using words like rough, smooth, hard, soft, stretchy, and bendy to choose the best material for each job.

Explore the Topic →
(quiz starts below)

Fascinating Fact:

Rough or smooth tells us if a surface scratches or slides, like sandpaper is rough and a glass marble is smooth.

In KS1 Science, children learn to describe materials by their properties. Words like rough, smooth, hard, soft, shiny, and bendy help us choose safe, strong, and useful objects.

  • Property: A way to describe what a material is like, such as hard, soft, rough, smooth, shiny, or dull.
  • Rough: A bumpy or scratchy surface that grips or scratches instead of sliding easily.
  • Smooth: A flat, even surface that feels soft or slippery and lets things slide easily.
How do you describe materials in KS1 science?

In KS1 science, children describe materials using simple words about what they feel and do, such as hard, soft, rough, smooth, bendy, stretchy, shiny, or dull.

Why is it important to know material properties?

Knowing material properties helps us choose the right material for a job, like glass for windows, rubber for tyres, or strong metal for tools and bridges.

What are examples of rough and smooth materials for children?

Rough materials include sandpaper, some stones, and certain carpets. Smooth materials include glass, polished tiles, plastic rulers, and many metal spoons.

1 .
The opposite of rough is ______.
Weak
Lumpy
Bumpy
Smooth
Babies have very smooth skin
2 .
Mr Smith is polishing his car. It gleams. The surface of the metal is _____.
Dull
Transparent
Soft
Shiny
Have you ever helped to clean the car?
3 .
This is a cheese grater. The surface of the cheese grater is _____.
Rough
Smooth
Weak
Invisible
Be careful using a cheese grater - mind your fingers!
4 .
There is glass in these windows. You can see through the glass. The glass is ___________.
Transparent
Elastic
Plastic
Dull
You can see through transparent materials
5 .
If you can’t see through something, it is called ______.
Transparent
Opaque
Bright
Dull
It is hard to see through opaque materials
6 .
This man is carving stone. He uses a hammer and chisel because the rock is very ____.
Soft
Flexible
Pale
Hard
Statues are carved from stone
7 .
The pillow is very comfortable because the pillow is ____.
Soft
Hard
Weak
Strong
Is the pillow in your bed comfortable?
8 .
This catapult is stretchy. Another word for stretchy is _______.
Tight
Elastic
Runny
Fluid
Rubber bands are sometimes called elastic bands. Elastic bands are stretchy - they are elastic!
9 .
The slinky toy is bendy. Another word for bendy is ________.
Transparent
Runny
Opaque
Flexible
Have you ever played with a slinky toy?
10 .
Steel girders are very ______.
Shiny
Bendy
Strong
Soft
The picture shows the Firth Of Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Describing materials

Author:  David Bland (Former Physics Teacher, KS1 Science & Geography Quiz Writer)

© Copyright 2016-2025 - Education Quizzes
Work Innovate Ltd - Design | Development | Marketing