Topic 4 - Obtaining And Usining Metals Flashcards
What types of metals aren’t found in compounds?
Un reactive metals
How are most metals found?
In a compound
What is a metal ore?
A compound containing enough metal to make it worthwhile extracting.
Are we ever going to run out of metal ores?
Yes, they are a finite source.
What types of metals are hard to extract?
reactive metals
What is an oxidation?
when you add oxygen to something
What does the most common type of reduction use to separate the oxygen from the metal?
Carbon
What is reduction?
when you remove oxygen from something
List the metals in the reactivity series from most to least
Potassium. Please Sodium. Send Calcium. Charlie's Magnesium. Monkeys Aluminium. And Zinc. Zebras Iron. In Lead. Lead Copper. Cages
Where is carbon in the reactivity series?
Below aluminium and above zinc
How do you extract a metal from its ore that is less reactive than carbon?
You heat the ore with carbon
How do you extract the metal that is more reactive than carbon?
Electrolysis
Which reduction method is more expensive?
Electrolysis
What can you do to make a metal stronger?
Covert it into an alloy
What is an alloy?
A mixture of two or more metals, or a mixture or a metal and a non-metal.
Why are alloys harder than pure metals?
Because they have different sized atoms. So when an element such as carbon is added to pure iron, the smaller carbon atom will upset the layers of pure atoms, making it more difficult for them to slide over each other.
Give an example of an alloy
Steel. Mixture of iron and carbon.
Gold alloys because pure gold it too soft so metals such as zinc, copper and nickel are used to harden it.
What is a smart alloy?
An alloy that remembers its original shape.
Give an example of a smart alloy
Nitinol, a mixture of nickel and titanium.
Why is it important to recycle metals?
So we don’t run out of them because they are a finite source.
What are the advantages of recycling?
It uses less resources
It uses less energy
It uses less money
It makes less rubbish
What are the properties of metals?
They are strong
They conduct heat and electricity well
They are malleable
What is aluminium used to make and why?
Window frames, electricity cables, and aircraft.
Because it has a low density and corrosion resistant, it also conducts, and forms strong hard alloys.
What is copper used for and why?
Electrical wires, pipes (plumbing). Because it is hard strong and has a high melting point, very un-reactive.
What s gold used for and why?
Jewellery, tooth fillings, and electric circuits. Because it is shiny and extremely easy to shape.
Why do some metals corrode?
The metal is being oxidised, metals which are high in the reactivity series are more likely to corrode because they react easily with oxygen.
