EVS / Science

Materials and Properties

Class 4 | CBSE / NCERT / ICSE

🎯 Learning Objectives

Students will identify common materials and their properties.
Students will understand properties like hard/soft, transparent/opaque/translucent, waterproof, and flexible.
Students will learn the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
Students will give examples of each state of matter from daily life.

📖 Let Us Begin!

Look around your classroom. The desk is made of wood, the window has glass, your water bottle may be plastic, and your ruler could be metal. Everything around us is made of some material.

Different materials have different qualities, called properties. We choose materials based on their properties. Let us explore the world of materials and learn about the three forms in which matter exists!

Image: Properties of materials — examples sorted into groups: Transparent (glass, water), Opaque (wood, metal), Soluble (sugar, salt), Insoluble (sand, chalk).
Title: Properties of Materials
Style: Flat colourful illustration, child-friendly, labelled
Size: 800×450px

Common Materials Around Us

Material	Where We Find It	Key Properties
Wood	Furniture, doors, pencils	Hard, strong, can be cut and shaped
Metal	Utensils, coins, keys, locks	Hard, strong, shiny, conducts heat
Plastic	Bottles, toys, bags, buckets	Light, waterproof, can be moulded into shapes
Glass	Windows, mirrors, spectacles	Transparent, smooth, breaks easily (brittle)
Rubber	Erasers, tyres, rubber bands	Soft, flexible, waterproof, bouncy
Cloth (Fabric)	Clothes, curtains, bags	Soft, flexible, can absorb water
Paper	Books, newspapers, notebooks	Light, thin, tears easily, absorbs water

Think about it: Why are cooking pots made of metal and not paper? Because metal is strong and can handle heat, while paper would burn!

Properties of Materials

Properties tell us how a material looks, feels, and behaves. Here are some important properties:

1. Hard and Soft

Hard materials are difficult to scratch or bend. Examples: metal, wood, stone.
Soft materials can be pressed or squeezed easily. Examples: cotton, sponge, rubber.

2. Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque

Transparent: You can see clearly through it. Examples: clear glass, clean water.
Translucent: Light passes through, but you cannot see clearly. Examples: frosted glass, oiled paper, thin cloth.
Opaque: No light passes through; you cannot see through it at all. Examples: wood, metal, cardboard.

3. Waterproof

Waterproof materials do not let water pass through. Examples: plastic, rubber, metal.
Non-waterproof materials absorb or let water pass through. Examples: paper, cloth, cotton.

4. Flexible and Rigid

Flexible materials can be bent without breaking. Examples: rubber, cloth, plastic bag.
Rigid materials cannot be bent easily. Examples: glass, iron rod, brick.

Think about it: Why do we use glass for windows? Because glass is transparent -- it lets light in so we can see outside!

The Three States of Matter

Everything around us is made of matter. Matter is anything that has weight and takes up space. Matter exists in three states:

State	Shape	Can It Flow?	Can It Be Compressed?	Examples
Solid	Has a fixed shape and size	No	No (very hard to press together)	Book, stone, ice, chair, coin
Liquid	No fixed shape; takes the shape of its container	Yes, it flows	No (very difficult)	Water, milk, oil, juice, honey
Gas	No fixed shape or size; spreads in all directions	Yes, it spreads	Yes (can be pressed into a smaller space)	Air, steam, cooking gas, oxygen

Think about it: Pour water into a glass -- it takes the shape of the glass. Pour it into a bowl -- it takes the shape of the bowl. But a stone keeps its shape no matter where you put it!

Changing States of Matter

Matter can change from one state to another when heated or cooled:

Ice (solid) melts into water (liquid) when heated.
Water (liquid) boils and becomes steam (gas) when heated more.
Steam (gas) cools down and becomes water (liquid) again. This is called condensation.
Water (liquid) freezes into ice (solid) when cooled.

Think about it: When your mother boils water for chai, you can see steam rising from the pot. That steam is water in the form of gas!

📝 Key Words

Word	Meaning
Material	What an object is made of (wood, metal, plastic, etc.)
Property	A quality of a material (hard, soft, transparent, etc.)
Transparent	Allows light to pass through clearly (you can see through it)
Translucent	Allows some light through but you cannot see clearly
Opaque	Does not allow any light to pass through
Waterproof	Does not let water pass through
Flexible	Can be bent without breaking
Matter	Anything that has weight and takes up space
Solid	A state of matter with a fixed shape and size
Liquid	A state of matter that flows and takes the shape of its container
Gas	A state of matter that spreads in all directions and has no fixed shape

⭐ Key Points to Remember

Common materials: wood, metal, plastic, glass, rubber, cloth, paper.
Properties include: hard/soft, transparent/translucent/opaque, waterproof, flexible/rigid.
We choose materials based on their properties (e.g., glass for windows, rubber for tyres).
Matter exists in three states: solid (fixed shape), liquid (flows), gas (spreads).
Heating and cooling can change the state of matter (ice to water to steam).

Finished learning? Now test what you know!

🎯 Quick Quiz — Test Yourself!

Answer these 8 questions about materials and matter. Read each one carefully and pick the best answer!

Score: 0 / 8

1. How many states of matter are there?

Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas.

2. Which state of matter has a fixed shape?

A solid has a fixed shape. A liquid flows and a gas spreads out.

3. A material you can see through, like glass, is called...

A transparent material lets all light through, so we can see through it clearly.

4. A material you cannot see through at all is called...

An opaque material lets no light through, so we cannot see through it (like wood).

5. When ice is heated, it changes into...

Heating changes the state of matter: ice (solid) melts to water (liquid), then boils to steam (gas).

6. Why is glass used for windows?

We choose materials by their properties. Glass is transparent, so it is used for windows.

7. Which state of matter flows and takes the shape of its container?

A liquid flows and takes the shape of its container.

8. Which material is used to make tyres because it is bendy and grips the road?

Rubber is used for tyres because it is flexible and grips the road well.

✏️ Practice Questions

A. Fill in the Blanks

1. Materials that let light pass through clearly are called .

2. A material that does not let water pass through is called .

3. Matter exists in three states: solid, , and .

4. A solid has a fixed and size.

5. When water is heated, it changes into .

B. Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which material is transparent?

(a) Wood(b) Cardboard(c) Clear glass(d) Metal

2. Which of these is a liquid?

(a) Ice(b) Steam(c) Milk(d) Stone

3. Rubber is used for tyres because it is:

(a) Transparent(b) Brittle(c) Flexible and strong(d) Rigid

4. Which is an example of a gas?

(a) Honey(b) Iron(c) Air(d) Juice

C. Short Answer Questions

1. What is the difference between transparent, translucent, and opaque materials? Give one example of each.

2. Name the three states of matter and give two examples of each.

3. Why are cooking pots made of metal and not plastic?

🎨 Think and Do -- Fun Activity: Light Test

Experiment: Collect the objects listed below. Hold each one in front of a torch (or a window with sunlight). Can you see light through it? Write your observations.

Object	Can you see through it? (Yes / A little / No)	Type (Transparent / Translucent / Opaque)
Clear glass
A sheet of paper
A thick book
A thin cloth (dupatta)
A metal plate
A plastic bag

Which objects let the most light through? ____________________________

Which objects blocked all the light? ____________________________

Want to review the lesson again?

EVS / Science

Materials and Properties

Class 4 | CBSE / NCERT / ICSE

Name: Class: Date:

Learning Objectives

Students will identify common materials and their properties.
Students will understand properties like hard/soft, transparent/opaque/translucent, waterproof, and flexible.
Students will learn the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
Students will give examples of each state of matter from daily life.

Let Us Begin!

[Image: Properties of materials — examples sorted into groups: Transparent (glass, water), Opaque (wood, metal), Soluble (sugar, salt), Insoluble (sand, chalk). Title: Properties of Materials]

Common Materials Around Us

Material	Where We Find It	Key Properties
Wood	Furniture, doors, pencils	Hard, strong, can be cut and shaped
Metal	Utensils, coins, keys, locks	Hard, strong, shiny, conducts heat
Plastic	Bottles, toys, bags, buckets	Light, waterproof, can be moulded
Glass	Windows, mirrors, spectacles	Transparent, smooth, breaks easily
Rubber	Erasers, tyres, rubber bands	Soft, flexible, waterproof, bouncy
Cloth	Clothes, curtains, bags	Soft, flexible, can absorb water
Paper	Books, newspapers, notebooks	Light, thin, tears easily

Think about it: Why are cooking pots made of metal and not paper?

Properties of Materials

1. Hard and Soft: Hard materials (metal, wood, stone) are difficult to scratch. Soft materials (cotton, sponge, rubber) can be pressed easily.

2. Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque: Transparent (clear glass) — see through clearly. Translucent (frosted glass) — some light passes. Opaque (wood, metal) — no light passes.

3. Waterproof: Waterproof materials (plastic, rubber, metal) do not let water through. Non-waterproof (paper, cloth) absorb water.

4. Flexible and Rigid: Flexible materials (rubber, cloth) bend without breaking. Rigid materials (glass, iron rod) cannot bend easily.