Extracting Metals

Question 1

What do ores contain?

Answer 1

Enough metal to make it economical to extract the metal

Question 2

What may change overtime when extracting metals from their ores?

Answer 2

The economics of extraction

Question 3

How do we get ores?

Answer 3

We mine them

Question 4

What may ores be before the metal is extracted and purified?

Answer 4

Concentrated

Question 5

How are unreactive metals such as gold found in the earth?

Answer 5

As a metal itself

Question 6

What is an ore?

Answer 6

Metals found as compounds that require chemical reactions to extract the metal

Question 7

What is reduction?

Answer 7

The removal of oxygen

Question 8

How are metals less reactive than carbon extracted from their oxides?

Answer 8

By reduction with carbon

Question 9

What is iron oxide reduced in to make iron?

Answer 9

A blast furnace

Question 10

How are metals more reactive than carbon extracted?

Answer 10

Electrolysis

Question 11

What state must metal compounds more reactive than carbon be in for electrolysis?

Answer 11

Molten

Question 12

Why is extraction by electrolysis expensive?

Answer 12

It uses large amounts of energy

Question 13

How can copper be extracted from copper rich ores?

Answer 13

Heating them in a furnace (smelting)- chemical processes that involve

Question 14

How can copper be purified?

Answer 14

Electrolysis

Question 15

The supply of copper rich ores is…

Answer 15

Limited

Question 16

What do traditional mining and extraction methods of copper have major impacts on?

Answer 16

The environment

Question 17

What new ways have been found of extracting copper from low grade ores?

Answer 17

Phytomining and bioleaching

Question 18

What is phytomining?

Answer 18

Using plants to absorb metal compounds

Question 19

What happens to the plants in phytomining?

Answer 19

They are burned to produce ash that contains metal compounds

Question 20

What is bioleaching?

Answer 20

Using bacteria to produce leachate solutions, that contain metal compounds

Question 21

Why have new ways of extracting copper from low-grade ores been researched?

Answer 21

To limit the environmental impact of traditional mining

Question 22

What 2 ways can copper be obtained?

Answer 22

Displacement and electrolysis of solutions of copper salts

Question 23

What is copper displaced by?

Answer 23

Scrap iron

Question 24

Aluminium and titanium can not be extracted from their oxides by…

Answer 24

Reduction with carbon

Question 25

What 2 reasons cause the current methods of extracting aluminium and titanium to be expensive?

Answer 25

Many stages in the processes, large amounts of energy are needed

Question 26

Why should we recycle metals? 3

Answer 26

Extracting them uses limited resources, it’s expensive in terms of energy, and it has bad effects on the environment