Materials — IGCSE Design & Technology (0979) questions by topic

Materials questions in IGCSE Design & Technology ask you to draw grain direction on glued hardwood boards, redraw a housing joint as an isometric exploded diagram, identify which stimulus (heat, light, weight or moisture) makes shape memory alloy change form, and name a thermoplastic suitable for a tapered bucket with a carrying handle.

Name, give, show, state and complete are the command words that recur, with marks spanning a huge range from 1 to 25 depending on whether a task is a single label or a full drawing. This page holds 9 questions, all from 2025 papers. Practise the drawing and labelling tasks by hand, then submit your work for instant marking to check projection lines and material choices against the mark scheme straightaway.

May–June 2025, Paper 32

Question 1 · 3 marks

Fig. 1.1 shows three tools, A, B and C, that can be used to cut sheet metal. Tool A is a hand tool with two crossed handles and curved blades being used to cut a piece of sheet…

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Question 2 · 3 marks

Fig. 2.1 shows parts of two wooden boards that will be joined using a tongue and groove joint. Two plain rectangular board ends are shown side by side, each ready to have the…

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Question 4 · 3 marks

Fig. 4.1 shows three hardwood boards glued together to make a table top. The three boards A, B and C are arranged side by side; board A is shown with its end grain visible, and…

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Question 5 · 2 marks

Fig. 5.1 shows a bucket made from a thermoplastic. The bucket has a tapered body and a single carrying handle. Name a suitable thermoplastic for the bucket.

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Question 6 · 2 marks

Fig. 6.1 shows the end grain of hardwood being planed. When planing end grain there is a danger that it could split. The figure shows a plane being pushed across the end grain of…

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Question 8 · 3 marks

Complete Fig. 8.1 to show an exploded view of a stopped housing joint. Fig. 8.1 shows an upright board meeting a horizontal base board to form a T-shaped (housing) joint, drawn in…

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Question 9 · 1 mark

Shape memory alloy (SMA) is a smart material. Complete the statement by adding the word that applies to shape memory alloy (SMA). The options given are: moisture, weight, heat,…

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Question 12 · 25 marks

Fig. 12.1 shows a design for a holder to contain salt and pepper shakers. A batch of 12 holders will be produced for use in a local cafe. Name a suitable material for each of the…

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Question 13 · 25 marks

Fig. 13.1 shows views of a desk made of wood (overall dimensions length 900, height 750, width 480), with a desktop, end frames and a drawer. Name a suitable hardwood for the end…

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