Chapter Questions
What three essential features define the properties of a material?
What kinds of chemical bonds are strongest? Why are these bonds so strong?
What is strength? What factors determine the strength of a material?
Name the three kinds of strength used to characterize materials. Give examples of materials that are strong in each of these modes. What kind of chemical bonding occurs in each of these materials?
Diamonds and graphite are both made from carbon atoms. Why is graphite so much weaker?
What is the difference between a composite material and a compound? Give an example of each.
Identify the materials that serve as an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor in an electrical device that you use every day.
What is unusual about superconductors? Under what conditions do materials exhibit superconductivity?
What is the difference between an insulator, a semiconductor, and a superconductor?
Explain how holes can move in a semiconductor.
If all atoms have electrons that are in motion about an atom, why aren't all materials magnetic?
What causes the magnetic properties of a material?
What is a semiconductor diode? How do diodes convert AC into DC?
What is a transistor? What are the base, emitter, and collector, respectively?
How are diodes and transistors similar, and how are they different?
What is an integrated circuit? How might one be made?
Give an example of a bit of information. What is the difference between a bit and a byte?
What is artificial intelligence? Name two essential differences between our brains and the CPU of a computer.