Ghazi Hassan PAGE 84

CHAPTER 9 –METALS
9.1 Properties of Metals
Physical properties
- Ductile (can be stretched to form wires)
- Malleable (can be bent and beaten into different shapes)
- Good conductors of electricity and heat
- Shiny
- High melting points and boiling points (except mercury and sodium)
- High density (except sodium)
- Strong

ALLOYS
Alloy – a mixture of metallic elements or metallic with non-metallic.
Pure metals are weak as the layers of atoms slide over each other easily.
in alloy of 2 metals, they have different sizes of atoms so this distrupts the
orderly layer of atoms making it difficult for atoms to slide over.

Uses of Alloy:
- Steel (mixture of iron, little carbon and trace elements)
- Brass (copper and zinc) – tough and corrosive-resistant
- Coin metals (copper with other metals e.g. nickel) – tough, resistant and
stand up to wear
Uses of Stainless Steel
is an alloy of iron containing chromium or nickel. Is the most expensive way

Applications for:
- Cutleries
- Medical instruments for hospital operations
- Kitchen sinks
- Steel objects in chemical factories and oil refineries
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Ghazi Hassan
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9.2 Reactivity Series

Reaction of Metals with Water
Pottasium, Sodium, and Calcium reacts with cold water to form:
M(s) + 2H2O(l) MOH(aq) + H2(g)
Metal + Water Metal Hydroxide + Hydrogen
Magnesium, Zinc, Iron reacts with steam to form:
M(s) + 2H2O(g) MO(s) + H2(g)
Metal + Water Metal Oxide + Hydrogen
Iron does not react with water
Copper and Gold have no reaction with water and steam

Reaction of Metals with Dilute Hydrochloric Acid

Pottasium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron reacts with dilute
hydrochloric acid to form:
M(s) + 2HCl(aq) MCl2(aq) + H2(g)
Metal + Acid Metal Chloride + Hydrogen
Lead reacts with warm hydrochloric acid slowly
Copper and Gold have no reaction with dilute hydrochloric acid

Displacement Reactions
Displacement reaction is the displacement of ions of metal from compounds of
metals lower in reactivity series by metals higher in reactivity series.
E.g. Magnesium displaces copper(II) chloride
Mg(s) + CuCl2(aq) MgCl2(aq) + Cu(s)
For observation, we’ll see silver magnesium metal coated with brown copper metal
Displacement is due to Mg atoms transfer electrons to Cu2+ ions forming Cu atoms.
Mg(s) Mg2+(aq) + 2e-
Cu2+(aq) + 2e- Cu(s)
Loss of electrons is due to it’s less reactive as less reactive metal has higher chance
of losing electrons. That’s why when Mg is placed in KCl, no reaction occurs.
Mg(s) + KCl2(aq) No reaction
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E.g. Displacement from metal oxides

Metal higher in reactivity series displaces oxides of metals lower in reactivity series.
When Ca burns with Ag2O, Ca displaces Ag to produce CaO and Ag.
Ca(s) + Ag2O(s) CaO(s) + 2Ag(s)
This is called thermit reaction large amount of heat is produced.

Reaction of Metal Oxides with Carbon

The lower the position of metal in reactivity series, the easier for carbon to remove
oxygen from metal oxide by heating. At higher position, stronger heat is needed.
E.g. CuO reacts with C can be reduced by bunsen burner flame temperature
CuO(s) + C(s) Cu(s) + CO2(g)
For iron oxide to be reduced, it needs very high temperature.

Reaction of Metal Oxides with Hydrogen

The lower position of metal in reactivity series, the easier hydrogen remove oxygen
from metal oxide by heating. At higher position, stronger heat is needed.
E.g. PbO reacts with H2 can be reduced by bunsen burner flame temperature
PbO(s) + H2(g) Pb(s) + H2O(l)

Decomposition of Metal Carbonates

The lower position of metal in reactivity series, the easier hydrogen remove oxygen
from metal oxide by heating. At higher position, stronger heat is needed.
E.g. CuCO3 reacts decomposes by heat of bunsen burner flame temperature
CuCO3(s) Cu(s) + CO2(g)
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Ghazi Hassan
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9.3 Extraction of Metals

Metals from Rocks
Minerals – elements/compounds that make up rocks
Metal ore – rock containing metal

Extracting these metals

- Metal ores are removed from ground.
- The ores contain useful and unwanted materials. Unwanted materials are
separated to obtain concentrated mineral.
- Metal is extracted from the mineral.

Occurrence of Metals
Metal ores are compounds, usually as:
- Metal oxides – metal + oxygen, eg: Al2O3
- Metal sulphides – metal + sulphur, eg: HgS
- Metal carbonates – metal + carbon + oxygen, eg: MgCO3

Some important metal ores:

Mineral Metal Name of ore Chemical name Formula
Sodium Rock salt Sodium chloride NaCl
Calcium Limestone Calcium carbonate CaCO3
Magnesium Magnesite Magnesium carbonate MgCO3
Aluminium Bauxite Aluminium oxide Al2O3
Zinc Zinc Blende Zinc sulphide ZnS
Haematite Iron(III) oxide Fe2O3
Iron
Magnetite Iron(II),(III) oxide Fe3O4
Tin Cassiterite Tin(IV) oxide SnO2
Lead Galena Lead(II) sulphide PbS
Copper(II) sulphide + CuFeS2
Copper Chalcopyrite
Iron sulphide (CuS + FeS)
Mercury Cinnabar Mercury(II) sulphide HgS
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The Extraction of Metals

Least Reactive – easiest to extract; extracted by physical methods

Less Rective – harder to extract than least reactive; by blast furnace; usually occur
as compounds of oxides or sulphides.

Most Reactive – hardest to extract – strong bonds in compounds; by electrolysis –

decomposing compounds with electricity.

Uses of Metals
The choice of metals over another depends on 3 factors:
1.Physical properties (e.g. melting point, strength, density, conductivity)
2.Chemical properties (e.g. resists corrosion)
3.Cost
The Uses of Some Metals and Their Reasons
Metal Uses Reason for the choice
- Drink cans - Low density, non-toxic, cheap
Aluminium
- Window frames - Resists corrosion, strong
- Electrical wires - Ductile, good conductor of electricity
Copper
- Water pipes - Strong, malleable, resists corrosion
- Jewellery - Shiny and attractive, very malleable
Gold
- Protective coating - Good reflector of heat and light
- Supersonic aircraft
Titanium - Light but strong, resists corrosion
- Spacecraft
Recycling of Metals
How Much is Left?
There are many iron on the surface but copper and tin are seriously reducing.

If you say you have only mined the surface, why don’t you mine deeper for more?
High temperatures and pressures and greater depth increases hazards that prevent
mining up to the lower part of crust, although there are more metals further down
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- Recycling metals can damage the environment by smelting process which sends a
lot of fumes into the air
- Cost to separate metals from waste is high. E.g. separat metals in alloys is hard
- Transport costs for collecting scrap metal is high, e.g. trucks should be used
- People are not interested in depositing their used materials in recycling bins

9.4 Iron
Iron is extracted from the iron ore haematite, Fe2O3
Iron is extracted from the oxide in a blast furnace (next page)

The Blast Furnace

1.Oxygen in the air reacts with coke to give carbon dioxide:

2.Carbon dioxide produced in 1 reacts with more coke to produce carbon monoxide

3.The carbon monoxide reacts with iron(III) oxide to produce molten iron, which runs
down to the bottom of the furnace

4.The limestone decomposed by heat to form calcium oxide and carbon dioxide
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Ghazi Hassan
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5.Iron ore contains many impurities (silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, etc.) Sand, SiO 2,
reacts with calcium oxide to produce slag (calcium silicate). Slag runs down to the
bottom of the furnace, floating on top of molten iron

6.Molten iron & slag tapped off separately in furnace. Slag is for road construction.

7.Referring to equation, not all iron(III) oxide reacted with carbon, only small amount
Fe2O3(s) + 3C(s) 2Fe(l) + 3CO3 (g)

Steel
Iron made from blast furnace is not good as:
- it contains impurities which makes it brittle (can break easily)
- it cannot be bent or stretched
Most iron is converted into steel which is an alloy of iron and carbon with small
amounts of other elements. Advantages of steel:
- it is strong and tough
- it can be bent and stretched without shattering

Making Steel:
- Impurities of iron is removed by blowing oxygen into molten iron to change the
impurities into oxides. They are then combined with CaO and removed as slag.
- Carbon and other metals are added in certain amount to make steel.

Different Types of Steel:

- Mild steel – is a low carbon steel with 0.25% carbon
It is strong and quite malleable. It is used for car bodies, ships, railway lines and
steel rods to reinforce concrete
- Hard steel – is a high-carbon steel with about 1% carbon
It is harder than mild steel and less malleable. It is used to make tools
- Stainless steel – is iron with large amounts of chromium and nickel
It is hard, shiny and doesn’t rust. It is used to make cutleries, medical
instrument and pipes in chemical industries.
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Rusting
Rusting – corrosion of iron and steel
Rust – brown solid product formed during rusting
Rust is hydrated iron(III) oxide Fe2O3 xH2O where water molecules varies.

Conditions for Rusting

Tubes A B C
After a few days, only nail in tube A rust. This shows that air and water is needed
for rust. In boiled water, the nail doesn’t rust in B as boiled water removes
dissolved air while in C, CaCl keeps air dry so there’s no water.
Other factor dissolved salt

Preventing Rusting
- Surface protection
- Sacrificial protection
- Use of stainless steel

Surface Protection – covers metal with a layer of substance

1) Paint
2) Grease or oil (also help to lubricate)
3) Plastic
4) Metal Plating – covering metal with thin layer of another metal (e.g. tin,
chromium, silver)
Advantage – These methods are cheap (except metal plating)
Disadvantage – If the layer is broken, air and water an reach metal to rust
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Ghazi Hassan
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Sacrificial Protection
is to sacrifice more reactive metal to corrode with water and air by layering it over
less reactive metal (e.g. iron covered by magnesium). If layer is broken, water & air
reach underneath layer, overlying metal still protect it.

Applications:
1) Galvanised Iron – is steel coated with zinc, usually used on roofs.
2) Protecting ships – blocks of zinc are attached to hulls to corrode instead of
steel which is the ship metal.
3) Underground steel pipes – these are attached to magnesium block using
insulated copper cables. Magnesium corrodes first than steel.

END OF CHAPTER 9