Metals have many useful properties including strength, conductivity, and heat resistance, making them valuable for countless applications from infrastructure to electronics. There are over 80 types of pure metals, but most objects are made from alloys combining metals for improved qualities. Metals can be extracted from ores or recycled, and shaped through casting, pressing, cutting, or other metalworking techniques.

1. SCIENCE KS2

2. materials

3. Metals Imagine world without METALS. There would be no cars or aeroplanes, and skyscrapers would fall down without the metal frames that support them. Metals have countless uses because the poses a unique combination of qualities. They are very strong and easy to shape, so they can be used to make all kinds of objects from ships to bottle tops. All metals conduct electricity. Some are ideal for wires and electrical equipment. Metals also carry heat, so they make good cooking pots

4. Metals continue These qualities can be improved by mixing two or more metals to make alloys. Most metallic objects are made of alloys rather than pure metals. There are more than 80 kinds of pure metals, though some are very rare. Aluminium and iron are the most common metals. A few metals, such as gold, occur in the ground as pure metals; the rest are found as ores in rock. Metal can also be obtained by recycling old cars and tins. This reduces waste and costs less than processing metal ores. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3935955 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/characteristic_materials/read3.shtml

6. window frames,

7. paints

8. saucepans

10. Pure metals The rarity and lustre of gold and silver have been prized for centuries. What is gold use for ? http://www.gold.org/technology/uses/ Other pure metals have special uses: - electrical wires are made of copper, which conducts electricity very well - mercury, a liquid metal is used in thermometers.

11. metalworking There are many ways of shaping metal. Casting is one method of making objects such as metal statues. Hot, molten metal is poured into a mould where it sets and hardens into the required shape. Metal can also be pressed, hammered, or cut into shape. Watch an animation about steel-rolling: http://www.matter.org.uk/steelmatter/forming/5_1_6.html