Metals And Their Uses Flashcards
What is an ore
Rock that contains enough metal compound or metal to make it worth extracting
How are metals extracted from other rocks?
Through chemical reactions such as:
Displacement - a more reactive element displaces it out
Reduction - carbon removes the oxygen from the oxide to produce the metal
What are alloys and give an example
Mixture of metals with different sized particles which are stronger and less brittle and made with specific uses.
Iron and other metals make steel
Give the 3 types of steel and properties
Low carbon - malleable
High carbon - hard
Stainless Steel - resistant to corrosion
Give a few properties of aluminium
Low density
High in the reactivity series (can’t be extracted from reduction as its higher than carbon, so uses electrolysis)
Resistant to corrosion
Expensive to extract (electrolysis)
Pure aluminium is not very strong but when aluminium makes an alloy it’s very strong
Give a few properties of titanium
Resistant to corrosion
Very strong
Can be reduced from the ore by carbon but this makes it brittle so more expensive processes are used
Low density (good for aircraft)
What is smelting?
Used to extract copper from rich ores.
Heating the ore strongly in a furnace, creates impure copper and can be made pure by electrolysis.
Expensive and uses a lot of energy
Name 2 ways to extract copper that is better for the environment than smelting?
Bioleaching - Uses bacteria to create solutions containing copper compounds.
Phytomining - uses plants to absorb copper from the ground, which are burnt and the ash is extracted for copper.
Describe the displacement that can extract copper?
Solutions of copper compounds can be reacted with a metal more reactive than copper such as scrap iron to displace the copper.
What’s so good about copper?
Good conductor of heat and electricity
Doesn’t react with water
Can be bent but can keep it’s shape too
Used in pipes and electrical wires
What can copper be into an alloy of?
Bronze and brass
Why should we recycle metals?
Saves the energy needed to extract the metals
Less combustion of fossil fuels to provide the energy
Saves resources
2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of using metals in construction
A : Strong, bent to shape, good conductors
D : Expensive to extract, energy wasted, pollution
