IB Design Technology Topic B3.1: Material Selection Questionbank

Designers may choose transparent plastics over glass in some products because they are:

A material selected for its colour, texture, and surface finish is being chosen for:

Which contextual factor most likely influenced the use of this material in the design?

A design team is developing a new home coffee maker for eco-conscious consumers. The final product must be cost-effective, aesthetically appealing, durable, and environmentally responsible.

Parkline Furniture makes the outdoor park bench shown in Figure 3, whose seat and back are timber slats. The bench sits outdoors all year, and the timber has weathered to grey and needs regular sealing to prevent it swelling, warping and rotting. The company is considering substituting recycled plastic lumber for the timber, and must weigh cost, availability and sustainability, not only how the two materials perform.

Figure 3: The park bench, its timber slats weathered grey by outdoor exposure