Biotechnology

• What is soda lime glass ideal for?

  windows and bottles
• What is most of the glass we use?

  soda lime glass
• How is soda lime glass made?

  • sand, sodium carbonate & limestone are mixed together.
  • mixture heated in a furnace till it melts
  • when it cools, it t solidifies into any shape we want
• What is a quality of soda lime glass?

  it has a low melting point which limits its uses
• What’s a better substitute to soda lime glass and why?


  • borosilicate glass
  • higher melting point than soda lime glass
  • therefore it’s useful for objects that require heating like kitchenware and labware
• How is borosilicate glass made?

  by melting a mixture of sand and boron trioxide
• What’s an example of clay ceramics?

  pottery and bricks
• What is clay?

  a mineral that’s found in the ground
• How are clay ceramics made?

  it’s made wet, shaped into the desired form then it’s heated in a furnace to harden
• How are composites made?

  by combining two different materials
• What are the 2 materials that are part of a composite ?

  1. reinforcement- consists of fibres or fragments of one material
  2. matrix- surrounds the reinforcement which acts as a binder
• What is glass?

  A type of ceramic
• What is a property of ceramics?

  They’re excellent insulators of heat & electricity and they’re brittle (not flexible and break easily)
• What are ceramics?

  Non- metallic solids with high melting points that arent made from carbon based compounds
• What’s an example of a composite (concrete)?

  • reinforced concrete
  • this has steel bars surrounded by concrete
  • its extremely strong therefore used to make buildings
• What’s an example of a composite (carbon fibre)?

  • carbon fibre composite
  • the reinforcement material is fibres of carbon
  • the matrix is plastic resin
• What is a property of carbon fibre composite?


  • it’s very strong and light
  • therefore extremely useful in cars/aircraft parts