3.1 - Extracting metals Flashcards
What is an ore?
A rock that contains enough of a metal or metal compound to make it worth extracting
What are the problems with mining ores?
- It often involves digging up large amount of rock
- The ore may need to be concentrated before the metal is extracted
- These processes produce large amounts of waste and may have major impacts on the environment
How are unreactive metals (metals low in the reactivity series) found in the Earth?
As a metal
What types of metals are found in the Earth as a metal?
Unreactive metals (metals low in the reactivity series), e.g gold
How can gold be separated from rocks?
Using physical methods
How can metals be extracted from compounds?
By displacement, using a more reactive element
What metals have oxides that can be reduced by carbon?
Metals less reactive than carbon
How can metals less reactive than carbon be extracted from their oxides?
By heating with carbon
What do we call the removal of oxygen from a metal oxide?
Reduction
How are metals often extracted from their oxides commercially?
Reduction reactions
What is a reduction reaction?
Carbon removes the oxygen from the metal oxide to produce the metal
