Science Unit 4 Lesson 7

Question 1

Where are most metals and minerals found?

Answer 1

Most metals and minerals are found in Earth’s crust combined with other elements in rocks known as ores.

Question 2

What is the meaning of ore?

Answer 2

naturally occurring rocks that contains useful metals and minerals mixed with large amounts of earth

Question 3

What are the four types of Mining?

Answer 3

.Underground mining
.Surface mining
.Placer mining
.Situ mining

Question 4

What is underground mining used for?

Answer 4

Is used to reach material deep under Earth’s surface. It is also used to retrieve valuable materials such as iron, copper, and tin

Question 5

What is the environment like in underground mining?

Answer 5

Miners travel underground to dig out ores, so these mines must have structural support to ensure the tunnels don’t collapse. The mines also require ventilation systems to clear exhaust fumes and naturally occurring toxic gases such as methane and radon from the air.

Question 6

Names some types of surface mining?

Answer 6

Surface mining includes a variety of methods, including strip mining, open-pit mining, and mountaintop removal.

Question 7

Surface mining is used to retrieve what kind of materials?

Answer 7

These methods restructure large expanses of a
landscape in order to access relatively shallow minerals

Question 8

Why is surface mining controversial?

Answer 8

Surface mining is highly controversial because of the damage it does to habitats and ecosystems.

Question 9

What is placer mining?

Answer 9

Placer mining is the removal of minerals from alluvial deposits
and stream beds. Larger-scale placer mines use trommels or mechanical dredges to sift through much greater amounts of sediment.

Question 10

What does alluvial deposists mean?

Answer 10

Gravel and sediment deposited where flowing water slows down

Question 11

What is the simplest form of placer mining

Answer 11

The simplest form of placer mining is panning for
gold

Question 12

What does larger scale placer mines use?

Answer 12

Larger-scale placer mines
use trommels or mechanical
dredges to sift through much
greater amounts of sediment.

Question 13

What does Trommel mean?

Answer 13

A rotating cylindrical screen for washing and sorting ore

Question 14

What does dredge mean?

Answer 14

A machine that lifts sediment from a body of water

Question 15

How does placer mining affect the environment?

Answer 15

As large quantities of sediments are moved, placer mining can impact the marine ecosystem and the quality of surface water
downstream.

Question 16

What does Situ mining involve?

Answer 16

In situ mining involves the use of solvents pumped into porous rock.
The solvents dissolve the target minerals to create a solution. The
solution is then pumped out of the rock so the mineral can be extracted.

Question 17

Situ mining is used to retrieve what?

Answer 17

This technique is most commonly used for uranium mining, though it can also be used to extract certain salts, copper, gold, and lithium.

Question 18

How does Situ mining affect the environment?

Answer 18

Even though it has a low production cost, the leaching liquid can seep into the rock and contaminate groundwater.

Question 19

What does solvent mean?

Answer 19

Even though it has a
low production cost, the leaching liquid
can seep into the rock and contaminate
ground water.

Question 20

What is special about lithium?

Answer 20

Lithium is a soft, silvery-white metal and is the lightest metal. It is also the lightest element that is solid at room temperature and pressure.

Question 21

True of False.

Lithium is not in its pure form in nature.

Answer 21

True, lithium is not found in its pure
form in nature, so it has to be extracted
from the brine or ore. Lithium extraction
involves mining to reach underground
deposits of lithium-rich minerals or
brines.

Question 22

Tin cans vs Aluminum cans

Answer 22

Tin cans are heavier and more durable than aluminum cans and are highly resistant to corrosion.
Aluminum cans are lighter, newer, and easier to recycle and there is much more of it in Earth’s crust

Question 23

Why is aluminum harder to mine than tin?

Answer 23

Because of its high reactivity, aluminum is much harder to extract from the earth than tin, as aluminum bonds with other elements to form compounds such as potassium aluminum sulfate and aluminum oxide.

Question 24

Most reactive metals are found with what?

Answer 24

Most reactive metals are often found as oxides (combined with oxygen). To extract the metal, the oxygen must be removed using chemical reactions

Question 25

What is the removal of oxygen from a substance called?

Answer 25

The removal of oxygen from a substance is called reduction.

Question 26

Is it hard to extract a reactive metal?

Answer 26

The more reactive the metal is, the harder it is to extract the metal from its ore.