Metal Reactivity And Extraction Flashcards
What are the two main ways of extracting metals
There is electrolysis and heating with carbon
What is electrolysis
Two carbon electrodes are placed inside a electrolyte( Molten or dissolved ionic compound which contains enough of one of the metals you wish to extract ) and a current is put through the electrolyte. One of the electrodes is negative(cathode) and the other positive (anode). As it is an ionic compound one of the elements will be nagative and one positive. The negative on attracts towards the positive anode and the other attracts towards the negative cathode
What is a reduction reaction
If the metal has formed a compound and needs extracting, but is less reactive than carbon then a reduction reaction can be performed to extract the metal ( usually from oxygen ). If you add carbon to iron oxide and then heat it up, you will end up with pure iron and carbon dioxide
Why are most metals not found in there pure form
Many common metals react with the oxygen in the air, causing them to form oxides. These oxides are normally the ores we find
What is the reactivity series
The reactivity series is a list of metals in order of how reactive they are to other substances. For metals, reactivity is determined by how easy it is for them to lose electrons, the higher up a metal is, the easier it is for them to form a positive ion
How does the list go
From top to bottom Potassium Sodium Lithium Calcium Magnesium CARBON - as whether it is above or below shows whether you need electrolysis or reduction Zinc Iron Copper
If you put acid with metal what do you generally get
Salt and hydrogen
Acid + Metal 👉Salt + Hydrogen
The more reactive the metal…..
The faster the reaction with the acids
What defines a metal
They can form positive ions when they react
What properties to metals have due to metallic bonding
Strong but malleable,
Heat and electrical conductors,
High boiling and high melting points
What properties do non metals have
Dull looking,
Brittle,
Low density and don’t conduct electricity
Why are transition metals known as typical metals
They have all the characteristics you would expect in a metal, and there compounds tend to be good conductors
Alkali metal properties
Soft, low density, one electron in the outer shell
Trends as you go down group one
Becomes more reactive,
Lower melting and boiling points,
Higher relative atomic mass
Difference between alkali metals and transitions metals
Group 1 is much more reactive,
They’re also much less dense, strong, hard and they have much lower melting points
