--- title: "Material Properties Vocabulary" description: "Use property terms to describe and compare materials: electrical and thermal conductor or insulator, transparent, translucent, opaque, soluble, insoluble, magnetic, flexible, rigid, and density. Use t" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/material-properties-vocabulary-mt_MVovx37Xct source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/material-properties-vocabulary-mt_MVovx37Xct.md retrieved: 2026-10-19 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Material Properties Vocabulary Use property terms to describe and compare materials: electrical and thermal conductor or insulator, transparent, translucent, opaque, soluble, insoluble, magnetic, flexible, rigid, and density. Use these terms to explain choices of materials for particular jobs. Subject: Science · Area: Matter & Materials · Ages 9 to 11 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/material-properties-vocabulary-mt_MVovx37Xct ## Ready when they can - Classify a set of materials as electrical conductors or insulators and explain why using the correct terms - Use 'transparent', 'translucent', and 'opaque' correctly and distinctly in descriptions - Apply at least four property terms correctly when justifying a material choice for a given purpose ## Lesson: Material Properties Vocabulary Match a material's properties to its job. Use these words to explain your choice. An electrical conductor lets current flow easily, as copper does. An electrical insulator, such as ordinary plastic, resists current flow. Thermal means to do with heat. A metal pan conducts heat readily. A thermal insulator slows heat transfer. A plastic handle slows heating from the pan, but can still get hot. Do not touch hot pans to test materials. Transparent materials give a clear view through them. Translucent materials pass light but scatter it, blurring the view. Opaque materials block visible light. Clear glass is transparent, frosted glass is translucent, and a wooden board is opaque. A clear view does not mean that every bit of light passes through. Soluble means able to dissolve in a liquid. In water, sugar is soluble and sand is insoluble. Dissolved sugar remains in the water even when its grains are no longer visible. Flexible means easy to bend without breaking. Rigid means resistant to bending. A flexible material need not spring back after bending; springing back is a separate property. A magnetic material is attracted to a magnet. Iron and many steels show strong attraction to a classroom magnet; copper does not. Density compares mass with volume, the space a sample takes up. Of two samples with equal volume, the one with more mass has higher density. Comparing weight alone is not enough when the samples have different sizes. *(drawing: These example samples have equal volume. Their masses are 78 g and 2 g. The steel sample has higher density.)* **Example.** A model window needs four properties. Transparent gives a clear view. Rigid helps it stay stiff. Insoluble in water means it does not dissolve in water. Low density means little mass for its volume, helping keep the model light. Match each property to a stated need. Insoluble does not mean waterproof. **Recap.** Words like conductor, insulator, transparent, translucent, opaque, soluble, magnetic, flexible, rigid, and density let you describe and choose materials exactly. ## Practice 8 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Testing Materials for Uses](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/testing-materials-for-uses-mt_e3-_toGuWf) - [Choosing the Right Material](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/choosing-the-right-material-mt_rTn43s8RNX) ## Opens up - [Advanced Material Properties](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/advanced-material-properties-mt_Ge4Wtg6QMM)