Ceramics Final Exam study page

---

Suggestions:  Form a study group with others in the class
Also: See Study Sheets from first two tests
See text
You may ask questions in class to clarify. You may e-mail the instructor if the answer isn't given in the book or in class.

---

Know what the following glaze related terms mean and give examples for each of them.

1. Flux? 2. Refractory? 3. Firing Range? 4. Low fire glaze?  High fire glaze? 5. Vitrification?  Porosity? How do you measure it or test it? 6. Raku? 7. Wood ash?

8. Soluble ingredients? Why have them? Why avoid them? 9. Frit? 10. Feldspar? 11. Slip glaze? 12. Tera Sigillata? 13. Salt Glaze? 14. Soda vapor glaze?

---

Study to understand the answers to these questions.

1. Why do pots explode when fired?
2. Why do pots crack after cooling?
3. Why do glazes crack when the pot cools?
4. Why do glazes crawl?
5. What is used to manufacture kiln shelves? Why?
6. What is the main glass forming ingredient in glazes?
7. Which ingredient in glaze gives the glaze better viscosity and firing range?
8. What can you change about a glaze composition if it isn't melting enough?
9. What glaze ingredients can be toxic and cause food poisoning?
10. If you enlarged the microscopic surface of a mat glaze, what would you see?
11. What are the glaze ingredients commonly used as colorants?
12. What types of glazing is done without putting any glaze on the pottery before it goes in the kiln.
13. Which colorants are most hazardous to breath?
14. What are the advantages of pyrometers over pyrometric cones?
15. What are the advantages of pyrometric cones over pyrometers?
16. What is the difference between simple cone numbers and cones with a zero before the number?
17. What do you call a gas kiln with blowers attached to the burners?
18. What do you call a gas kiln without blowers attached to the burners?
19. What do you call a gas kiln with no opening in the top for a chimney (it connects at the bottom)?
20. What do you call a gas kiln with an opening in the top for a chimney?
21. What do you call a gas kiln if the flames and pottery are sharing the same area?
22. What do you call a gas kiln if the flames and pottery are isolated from each other?
23. Of two kinds of electric kiln designs, which one is easier to load and unload?
24. What is used to prevent gas accumulation in a kiln that has accidentally gone out?
25. How is work heat different than temperature?
26. What can go wrong during kiln cooling? Why?
27. How can kilns be designed to use less fuel? What materials use less fuel? What air flow principles use less fuel?
28. When firing to melt a certain glaze, why does a fast firing use less fuel than a slow firing?
29. Why does a large kiln of similar design use less fuel per cubic foot of space than a small kiln?
30. Why do some potters build wood kilns from materials that require longer firings and more fuel?
31. Can you describe the configuration for the firing of tribal wares without the use of permanent kilns?
32. Review renowned clay artists whose work you appreciate.

---

How to Earn Better Test Grades
back to Ceramcs course page .
back to Clay Study Sheet
back to Stacking and Firing Study Sheet