COMPLIANT MATERIALS
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Subject: Career Technology
Class: JHS 1
Term: 1st Term
Week: 8
Grade code: B7.2.1.1.3
Strand code: 2
Sub-strand code: 1
Content standard code: B7.2.1.1
Indicator code: B7.2.1.1.3
Theme: MATERIALS FOR PRODUCTION
Subtheme: COMPLIANT MATERIALS
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This lesson introduces learners to compliant materials, which are materials that can easily change their shape. We see and use these materials every day in Ghana—from the rubber in our "chale wote" sandals and the clay used for making cooking pots, to the elastic in our clothes and the plastic bags we use for shopping. Understanding these materials is the first step to knowing how to choose the right material to make useful products, whether you want to become an engineer, a fashion designer, a potter, or an artist. This knowledge helps us appreciate the science behind everyday objects and how they are created.
A. What are Compliant Materials?
A compliant material is any material that can easily change its shape or bend when a force (like a push, pull, or squeeze) is applied to it.
Think about it this way: If you press your finger into a ball of kenkey dough, it leaves a mark. The dough changes shape easily. The dough is a compliant material. If you press your finger with the same force against a stone or a piece of wood, your finger might hurt, but the stone does not change its shape. The stone is a resistant (or rigid) material, not a compliant one.
Compliant materials are all around us and are very useful for making things that need to bend, stretch, or be moulded. B. Key Properties of Compliant Materials