Metal ores Flashcards
What is an ore?
A naturally occuring rock where metal is concentrated enough to make extracting profitable.
What is malachite?
What can you extract from it?
- Copper carbonate
- Extract: copper
What is haematite?
What can you extract from it?
- Iron oxide
- Extract: Iron
What is bauxite?
- Aluminium oxide
- Extract: Aluminium
What is magnetite?
- Iron oxide
- Extract: Iron
How can you separate metal compounds?
- Metal compounds can be separated by reacting with more reactive element to displace it (kick it out)–> leaving pure metal.
How are metals below carbon separated?
- Heat with carbon (more reactive than metal)
- So will displace metal from compound and pure metal
Why can heating with carbon not always work?
What should you use instead?
- Metal could react with carbon if the element bonded to it is very unreactive.
- Sometimes, hydrogen needs to be used
What is reduction?
- When an atom loses oxygen
* gains electrons*
What is the equation for reduction of copper oxide?
2CuO + C –> 2Cu +CO₂
Why do gold and silver not undergo any chemical reactions during separation?
- They are unreactive (won’t react with element to form compounds)
- Will be found alone
- Chemical separation not needed
What 2 main steps do you need to undergo when extracting a metal?
- ) Get rid of any substances on ore eg. dirt
2. ) Separate metal from metal compound
What is electrolysis?
Why can’t electrolysis be used for all compounds?
Electrolysis is the decomposition of a compound using an electric current.
- Large amounts of electrical energy required
- Electrical energy = expensive
What metals is electrolysis used for?
- Metals above carbon in the reactivity series
What metals is heating with carbon used for?
- Metals less reactive than carbon.
