Metals | Properties of Metals | Reactivity Series | Extraction of Metals
Topics:
- Properties of Metals
- Metals
- Physical Properties
- Trend In metallic character
- Alloys
- Reactivity Series
- Reactivity Series
- Importance of reactivity series
- Redox Reaction
- Extraction of Metals
- Ore
- Iron
- Construction of blast furnace
- Manufacture of Steel
- Rusting of Iron
- Aluminum
Properties of Metals
Metals:
Any element that has the ability to donate electron is a metal.
Physical Properties:
- Metals have high density.
- High melting and boiling points
- They form metallic bonds
- They are malleable (can form sheets)
- They are ductile (can be pulled into wires)
- They are good conductors of heat and electricity
- Metals generally have a shiny surface
- Metals are used in the formation of alloys.
Trend In metallic character:
- Generally, the reactivity of metals increases down the group.
- However, moving left to right in a period, the reactivity decreases as the size decreases and it becomes difficult to donate electron due to attraction from the nucleus.
Alloys:
Definition:
The homogenous mixture of two or more metals is called the alloy e.g. brass.
Why transition metals form alloys?
Since the size of transition metals is small, the binding is easier to keep. They form more strong alloys.
Common Alloys:
| Copper Alloys | ||
| Bronze | Copper: 90% | Tin: 10% |
| Copper Nickel | Copper:75% | Nickel:25% |
| Brass | Copper: 70% | Zinc: 30% |
| Constantan | Copper: 60% | Nickel: 40% |
| Lead Alloys | ||
| Solder | Lead: 70% | Tin: 30% |
| Pewter | Lead: 30% | Tin: 70% |
| Aluminum Alloys | ||
| Duralumin | Aluminum: 95% | Cu/Mg: 5% |
| Magnalium | Aluminum: 70% | Magnesium: 30% |
- Amalgam is made of mercury and zinc and is used in teeth fillings.
- Coinage metals are mostly gold, copper and silver.
- Steel is made of 99% Iron and 1% carbon.
Reactivity Series:
Reactivity Series:
Reactivity Series is used to show the relative reactivity of different elements with the topmost element being the most reactive. The series is as follows:
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Aluminum
- Carbon
- Zinc
- Iron
- Tin
- Lead
- Hydrogen
- Copper
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
Importance of reactivity series:
The reactivity series help us in many different ways. These include:
- Reactivity of metals
- Displacement reactions
- Reaction with water
- Reaction with steam
- Reaction with dilute acid
- Stability of Compound
- Separation Method
- Redox Reaction
| Elements | Reaction with water/acid | To reduce | Stability (Hydroxides) | Stability (Carbonates) | Stability (Nitrates) |
| Potassium | Any water/acid | Electrolysis | Stable compounds, Don’t convert to oxide and water when heated They decompose | Stable so do not convert to oxides and CO2 Decompose | When heated, make nitride (NO2) and oxygen |
| Sodium | |||||
| Calcium | |||||
| Magnesium | Cool water won’t react Steam will react Acid will react | Reducing agents (H, C) | Convert to oxides and water when heated unstable | Convert to oxide and Carbon dioxide when heated unstable | Make metal oxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxygen |
| Aluminum | |||||
| Carbon | |||||
| Zinc | |||||
| Iron | |||||
| Tin | |||||
| Lead | Dilute acid | ||||
| Hydrogen | |||||
| Copper | Only carbon as agent | ||||
| Silver | heating | Hydroxides don’t exist | Carbonates do not exist | Make metal, NO2 and O2 | |
| Gold | Concentrated acid doesn’t react | No oxide | |||
| Platinum |
Redox Reaction:
- The elements lying above in the series will donate the electrons faster than the elements lying below
- So in a galvanic cell, the above elements will be anodes and the elements below will be cathodes.
- The more the difference between them in the series, the more the current.
Extraction of Metals:
Ore:
- A metal which is present in the depth of earth in the form of their compounds.
- Ores are finite resources and hence, it is important that we recycle metals.
- Recycling can be expensive since the collection takes time and money.
- It will however save the environment by reducing energy consuming and polluting industrial processes.
Iron:
Iron is extracted from its ore, hematite, using the blast furnace.
Construction of blast furnace:
- 40 meters height
- 9 meters wide
- Has different temperature zones
- Iron ore is reduced to form iron at a very high heat.
- Iron ore together with Coke and Calcium carbonate is put inside the blast furnace which has a very high temperature.
- Air enters from beneath the furnace.
- It becomes hot and rises up where the Oxygen reacts with carbon to form Carbon dioxide
- C + O2 → CO2
- Due to high temperature, carbon dioxide reacts with carbon to form carbon monoxide
- CO2 + C → CO
- Carbon monoxide then reacts with iron ore to reduce it to iron and form Carbon dioxide again
- 3CO + Fe2O3 → 2Fe + 3CO2
- Limestone is added to remove the sand in the ore. It first turns into its oxide due to heat and the oxide reacts with sand to make calcium silicate.
- CaCO3 → CaO + CO2
- CaO + SiO2 → CaSiO3 (slag)
- Since iron has a higher density than slag, it comes down and is removed.
- The iron that is removed is called pig iron or cast iron.
Manufacture of Steel:
- Steel is made by taking the pig iron and carbon or other metals.
- Different additions of metals to iron can create different types of steel.
- High carbon steel:
- Hard machinery,
- Engine parts,
- Railway lines and tracks
- Low carbon steel:
- Car bodies
- Nuts and bolts
- Medium carbon steel:
- Surgical instruments,
- Cutlery
- Chemical plants
- The more the carbon, the brittle the steel will be, and it will break or crack easily.
- Less carbon steel will be malleable and ductile.
Rusting of Iron:
Corrosion:
The chemical decay of metal by reaction of metal with the surrounding material. The surrounding material could be carbon dioxide, water, silicon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide etc.
Rusting of Iron:
Iron reacts with water in the atmosphere and convert from Fe to Fe2O3.H2O which is known as rust. 4Fe + O2 + 2H2O→ 2Fe2O3.H2O  There are several ways that are used to prevent rust.
- Coat iron with paint, grease, plastic or zinc
- Sacrificial protection: where we place another more reactive metal with iron which reacts first with the atmosphere rather than iron
Aluminum:
- Manufacture of aluminum from molten cryolite has been discussed in electrolysis.
- Aluminum is apparently unreactive. This happens because Aluminum reacts with the atmosphere to create a very thin layer of oxide. The oxide is unreactive, but aluminum underneath is reactive.
- Aluminum is used in the manufacture of aircrafts, food containers and electric cables etc.
Lesson Tags
Properties of Metals | Reactivity Series | Extraction of Metals | Detailed Notes For Preparation & Revision | O Level Chemistry 5070 and IGCSE Chemistry 0620
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