Compressive strength -- The ability of a material to withstand being pushed or squashed.

Density -- The mass per unit volume of a material. Its importance is in portability in terms of a product’s weight and size. Design contexts include, pre-packaged food (instant noodles) is sold by weight and Page 11 / 28 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2015 volume, packaging foams

Ductility -- The ability of a material to be drawn or extruded into a wire or other extended shape.

Elasticity -- The extent to which a material will return to its original shape after being deformed.

Electrical resistivity -- The measure of a material's ability to conduct electricity. A material with low resistivity will conduct electricity well.

Electro-rheostatic -- This smart property relates to a fluid that can undergo a dramatic change in its viscosity when exposed to an electric field

Hardness -- The resistance a material offers to penetration or scratching.

Magneto-rheostatic -- This smart property relates to a fluid that can undergo a dramatic change in its viscosity when exposed to a magnetic field.

Mass -- Relates to the amount of matter that is contained with a specific material. It is often confused with weight understandably as we use Kg to measure it. Mass is a constant whereas weight may vary depending upon where it is being measured.

Photochromicity -- A property of a smart material. A photochromic material changes colour in response to an increase in light. When the light source is removed, it returns to its original colour.

Piezoelectricity -- A property of a smart material. A piezoelectric material gives off a small electrical discharge when deformed.

Plasticity -- The ability of a material to be changed in shape permanently.

Shape memory alloys -- Shape memory alloys are metals that when deformed, can spring back into its original shape once released.

Stiffness -- The resistance of an elastic body to deflection by an applied force.

Strain -- The response of a material due to stress, defined as the change in length divided by the original length.

Stress -- A force on a material divided by the cross-sectional area of that material.

Tensile strength -- The ability of a material to withstand pulling forces

Thermal conductivity -- The measure of how fast heat is conducted through a slab of material with a given temperature difference across the slab.

Thermal expansion -- A measure of the degree of increase in dimensions when an object is heated. This can be measured by an increase in length, area or volume. The expansivity can be measured as the fractional increase in dimension per kelvin increase in temperature

Thermo-electricity -- This refers to a smart material that when heated can produce an electric current. A thermoelectric material is comprised of two dissimilar conductors.

Toughness -- The ability of a material to resist the propagation of cracks.

Volume -- The quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by a boundary, for example, the space that a substance solid, liquid, gas, or shape occupies or contains

Weight -- Relies on mass and gravitational forces to provide measurable value. Weight is technically measure as a force, which is the Newton, i.e. a mass of 1 Kg is equivalent to 9.8 Newton [on earth].

Young's Modulus -- A measure of the stiffness of an elastic material and defined by stress/strain.