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Stuff Every Composites Scout Should Know: the Study Guide

Practice facts for the Composite Materials merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.

Knowing Composites Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.

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Chapter 1: Statics and Forces

What is a robotic material?

Short answer: A composite with sensing and communication parts

Robotic materials are composites that include sensing, actuation, computation, and communication components.

Groan of the day: Smart composites sense the fun.

Sources: Composite material

The cheat sheet

The whole guide on one screen. Screenshot it, print it, stick it on the fridge.

  • Composites pair a binder matrix with a reinforcement that adds strength or stiffness.
  • Unlike mixtures or solutions, composite constituents remain separate and distinct in the finished structure.
  • Layered composites are known as composite laminates.
  • Ancient builders mixed straw with mud to form composite bricks.
  • Wood is a natural composite of cellulose fibres held in a lignin and hemicellulose matrix.
  • Strong, stiff but brittle glass fibres combine with a ductile polymer to give balanced properties.
  • Concrete is the most common artificial composite, made in huge volumes each year.
  • Concrete resists compression but not tension, so steel bars are added to resist stretching.
  • Thin stiff skins bonded to a lightweight thick core give high bending stiffness at low density.
  • The matrix surrounds the reinforcement and keeps it in place while improving properties.
  • Reinforcements impart exceptional physical and mechanical properties to the composite.
  • Thermoset matrices cure through a chemical reaction, setting the part shape.

Pop quiz

Think of your answer first, then peek.

  1. What two main parts make up a typical engineered composite?
    • A matrix and a reinforcement
    • A metal and a magnet
    • A gas and a liquid
    Show the answer

    A matrix and a reinforcement. Composites pair a binder matrix with a reinforcement that adds strength or stiffness.

  2. What is the reinforcement's job in a composite?
    • To dissolve the matrix
    • To add strength and stiffness
    • To make the part heavier
    Show the answer

    To add strength and stiffness. Reinforcements impart exceptional physical and mechanical properties to the composite.

  3. Why are composites tested before and after construction?
    • To make them heavier
    • To change their color
    • To predict and prevent failures
    Show the answer

    To predict and prevent failures. Testing helps predict and prevent failures in composite structures.

  4. Why are short fibres sometimes used instead of long ones?
    • They are cheaper or easier to make
    • They are always stronger
    • They never mix with resin
    Show the answer

    They are cheaper or easier to make. Short fibres can be cheaper or more convenient while still improving properties.

  5. What do high strain composites depend on for performance?
    • Room smell
    • Fibre layout
    • Resin color
    Show the answer

    Fibre layout. High strain composite performance generally depends on fibre layout rather than resin content.

Now make it stick

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This guide covers the 50 free cards. The other 48 are in the game for members.

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