1. Sports clothing What properties do you want from your swimming costume and why?

2. Objectives To know some examples of smart materials used in fabrics and sport equipment. To be able to explain the properties of some smart materials in terms of their structure.

3. Thinsulate vs cotton Your teacher will run an experiment throughout the lesson She will be measuring the time taken for water to cool when insulated by two different materials The aim is to find out which material is the better insulator of heat

4. You task Your task today is to do a web search to find out about different materials Instructions for your task are found on the school website The teacher will tell you where to find these

5. Lycra TM Which sports might use Lycra TM ? Cyclists, sprinters, swimmers, gymnasts. What sort of group of materials does it fit into? Artificial fibre, polymer, plastic. Why is Lycra TM a useful material for sports clothing? Stretches more than rubber and is more resistant making it comfortable. Doesn’t get damaged by sweat or sun. Reduces friction.

6. Thinsulate TM Which sports might use Thinsulate TM ? Hikers, mountain climbers. What sort of group of materials does it fit into? Artificial fibre, polymer, plastic, polypropene fibres. Why is Thinsulate TM a useful material for extreme cold temperatures? Very thin fibres trap air. The fibres reflect body heat back in and stop radiation of energy out. Light weight.

7. Gortex TM Which sports might use Gortex TM ? Yachtsman. What sort of group of materials does it fit into? Composite. Why is Gortex TM breathable? A plastic layer with millions of small holes is the filling in a sandwich of fabric. The tiny water molecules in your evaporated sweat can pass through but rain drops are too big.

8. Plenary 1. What material would you recommend a down hill speed skier to wear? 2. Would it be different to a recreational skier?