Have you ever wondered how ceramics are so brittle and hard? Why some materials act differently than others? Adding a small amount of carbon to iron can make the metal stronger than base metal. The properties of a material are determined by their composition and how the material has been used. The introduction to materials science class that most engineering undergrads at Georgia Tech take is mirrored by the second of three courses on Coursera. The students will learn how engineering materials are used around the world in order to understand them better This first section covers the basics of materials science, which is how a material works.