Delhi Public School Agra
(Under the aegis of The Delhi Public School Society, East of Kailash, New Delhi)
CHAPTER NOTES GRADE – VI SUBJECT – SCIENCE
TOPIC: MATERIALS AROUND US
Introduction
Everything around us is made of materials. The chair you're sitting on, the clothes you're wearing, and the
food you eat are all made from different materials. Materials can be anything from the metal in your spoon
to the plastic in your water bottle.
We can group materials based on their properties, like how they feel, look, and what they can do. Some
materials are hard, like metal, while others are soft, like cotton. Some materials can bend, like rubber,
and others can't, like glass.
Understanding the different types of materials helps us choose the right one for a particular job. For
example, we use glass to make windows because it is clear and lets light in, but we use metal to make
cars because it is strong and can protect us.
Observing Objects Around Us
Let’s explore some common materials and see where we find them!
1. Paper: Used in books, newspapers, and packaging materials.
2. Wood: Used in furniture, construction, tools, and decorative items.
3. Cloth: Used in clothing, curtains, and upholstery.
Objects around us are made from different materials. A material is a substance used to make an object.
For example, a wooden table is made from the material wood.
Some of Common Materials
• Paper: Used in books, newspapers, and packaging materials.
• Wood: Used in furniture, construction, tools, and decorative items.
• Cloth: Used in clothing, curtains, and upholstery.
• Glass: Used in windows, bottles, eyeglasses, and decorative items.
• Metal: Used in construction, machinery, utensils, and tools.
• Plastic: Used in containers, toys, electronics, and everyday items.
• Clay: Used in pottery, bricks, sculptures, and decorative items.
Early Pottery in India
• The oldest pottery found in the Indian subcontinent is believed to be around 7,000 to 8,000 years
old, discovered in places like the Ganga plains (specifically Lahuradewa) and Baluchistan
(particularly Mehrgarh).
• Around 4000 BCE, the Sindhu-Sarasvati region saw advancements in pottery techniques,
including wheel-turned pottery, the use of pigments, and the application of protective or decorative
coats known as 'slips.' These slips came in multiple colours and often featured decorative
paintings.
• During the Sindhu-Sarasvati (or 'Harappan') Civilization, which lasted from 2600 to 1900 BCE,
pottery techniques became even more sophisticated. Potters created bright red pottery with black
designs that displayed geometric patterns and images of animals, both aquatic and terrestrial.
• The clay used for making various pottery items, such as pots, dishes, and bowls, was carefully
selected, cleaned, sieved, kneaded, and shaped on a potter's wheel before being baked in kilns.
This process resulted in what is known as 'terracotta.'
• Pots served a variety of purposes, including cooking and storing food items like grains, oil, and
ghee. Some large storage jars and other pottery pieces can be seen at the National Museum in
New Delhi.
How to Group Materials?
We group objects to understand them better. Grouping helps us find things more easily and see how they
are similar or different. For example, when you group your toys by type or colour, it keeps your room tidy
and makes it easier to find the toy you want!
Classification of Materials:
• Objects can be made from different materials, and some materials can be used to create more
than one object.
• The process of arranging objects into groups based on common properties is called classification.
Similarly, materials can also be classified based on certain properties.
• The choice of materials for making an object depends on the properties of the materials and
the purpose for which the object is intended. For example, different parts of a pen may be made
from different materials like plastic, metal, and ink.
Examples of Grouping
• Shape: Round (ball), square (box), cylindrical (tube).
• Colour: Red (apple), blue (sky), green (leaf).
• Hardness: Hard (stone), soft (cotton).
• Softness: Soft (rubber), hard (metal).
• Shine: Shiny (metal), dull (wood).
What are the Different Properties of Materials?
1. Appearance of materials:
Materials have different appearances. For example, freshly cut, unpolished wood looks very different
from iron. Iron, copper, and aluminium also look different from each other, but they share some similarities
that set them apart from wood.
Lustrous vs. Non-Lustrous Materials
• Lustrous materials have shiny surfaces and are typically metals, such as iron, copper, zinc,
aluminium, and gold. However, some metals can lose their shine and appear dull due to exposure
to air and moisture. This is why we often see their shine only on freshly cut surfaces.
• Non-lustrous materials do not have shiny surfaces. Examples include paper, wood, rubber, and
jute.
Are all lustrous materials metals?
• Not all shiny materials are metals. The saying "All that glitters is not gold" reminds us of this.
• Some materials are made shiny by polishing or by coating them with thin layers of plastic, wax, or
other substances. These materials may not be metals.
2. Hardness:
• Materials that are easy to compress or scratch are considered soft, while those that are hard to
compress or scratch are considered hard. However, these properties are relative.
• For example, rubber is harder than a sponge but softer than iron. This means that hardness and
softness can change depending on what you are comparing.
3. Materials through which one can see or cannot see (Transparency):
• Transparent Materials: Transparent materials are those through which we can see objects clearly
without any distortion. Examples include glass, water, air, and cellophane paper.
• Opaque Materials: Opaque materials do not allow any light to pass through, which means we
cannot see through them at all. Examples of opaque materials include wood, cardboard, and
metals.
• Translucent Materials: Translucent materials allow light to pass through, but they do not provide a
clear view of the objects on the other side. Examples of translucent materials include butter paper
and frosted glass.
4. Solubility in water:
• Soluble Materials: Some materials can dissolve in water. This means they mix well with water and
disappear, like when you stir sugar into a cup of water.
• Insoluble Materials: Other materials do not dissolve in water, no matter how much you stir. These
materials remain separate and visible, like sand in a glass of water.
• Water is very important for our bodies because it can dissolve many different substances, helping
our bodies function properly.
Mixing of Liquids and Solubility of Gases in Water
• Some liquids mix well with water and become a part of it, like sugar in water.
• Other liquids do not mix with water and form a separate layer, like oil. When left still, oil floats on
top of water because it is less dense.
• Just like liquids, some gases can dissolve in water while others cannot.
• For example, oxygen gas dissolves in water and is essential for the survival of fish and other
aquatic animals. Plants in water also need dissolved oxygen for respiration.
Make Your Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
ORS, or Oral Rehydration Solution, is a simple and effective way to treat dehydration caused by diarrhoea
or other illnesses. While you can buy ready-made ORS packets at health centres or in stores, making it at
home is easy and just as effective.
To prepare ORS at home, follow these steps:
1. Take 1 litre of boiled and cooled water.
2. Add 6 teaspoons of sugar (which helps provide energy and restore lost fluids).
3. Add ½ teaspoon of common salt (which helps to balance the electrolytes).
4. Mix the solution well until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
5. How heavy or light?
• Mass is a property we use to measure how heavy or light an object is.
• When we say an object is heavier, it means it has more mass. Conversely, if an object is lighter, it
has less mass.
• Weight is often used interchangeably with mass in everyday language, but it specifically refers to
how heavy something is when measured.
6. Space and Volume
• Volume refers to the amount of space an object occupies.
• The volume of a liquid is usually measured in litres (L) or millilitres (mL).
What is Matter?
• Anything that takes up space and has weight is called matter.
• The amount of matter in an object is called its mass. We measure mass in grams (g) or kilograms
(kg).
• The space taken up by matter is its volume. We measure volume in litres (L) or millilitres (mL).
Classifying Materials
• We can group materials based on their similarities or differences. For example, metals like iron,
copper, and aluminium can be grouped because they are all metals.
• Grouping materials helps us observe patterns in their properties. For example, metals are usually
shiny, strong, and good conductors of heat and electricity.
Unit of Mass: Kilogram (kg)
• The kilogram (kg) is the basic unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI).
Units of Volume: Litre, Millilitre, and Cubic Metre
• The litre is written as a capital "L" (L), while the millilitre is written as "mL" with a lowercase "m" and
an uppercase "L."
• The SI unit for volume is the cubic metre, abbreviated as m 3.
• 1 m3 is equal to 1000 litres (L).
