Preliminary Chemistry Metals Dot Point Summary

8.3 Metals

1. Metals have been extracted and used for many thousands of years.
1) Outline and examine some uses of different metals through history, including
contemporary uses, as uncombined metals or as alloys.
Age Dates Name of Uses of metal Properties of Metal
Metal
Copper 5000- Copper Ornaments Easy to work
Age 3000BC Tools Good conductor of electricity
Weapons Nice and shiny
Cooking Corrosion resistant
implements
Electrical Wires
Water pipes
Bronze 3000- Bronze an Cutting tools Lower melting point yet
Age 1000BC alloy of shields & armour harder than Copper
copper statues quite malleable and ductile
church bells
bearings
Iron Age From Iron Weapons and Very malleable and ductile
1000BC tools reasonably hard
Magnetic abundant in the crust
application quite heavy
Converted into very magnetic
carbon steels (iron-
carbon alloys)
used in building
construction
framework
cars
machinery
household
appliances
Modern Present o Aluminiu - Aluminium: - Aluminium:
Era day m saucepans, drink Low density
o Titanium cans, cooking foil high thermal conductivity
o Gold - Titanium: alloys very high corrosion resistance
used in spacecrafts very malleable and ductile
and aircrafts - Titanium:
Quite strong
- Gold: jewellery,
Quite malleable/ductile
electrical connections
- Gold:
Very malleable/ductile
Good electrical conductor
Shiny and lustrous
Corrosion resistant

2) Describe the use of common alloys including steel, brass and solder and explain how
these relate to their properties.
 Preliminary Chemistry Metals Dot Point Summary

Alloy Composition Properties Use(s)

Steel 99.8% Fe, 0.2% C Hard but easily Nails
worked Cables & chains
Brass 65% Cu, 35% Zn & small lustrous gold Plumbing fittings, musical
amounts of other appearance, hard instruments, decorations.
elements eg. Pb, Sn & but easily
Al machined, polishes
well
Solder 33% Sn, 67% Pb Low melting point Joining metals together
Adheres firmly to (plumbing and electrical)
other metals when
molten
Stainless 74% Fe, 18% Cr, 8% Ni Resists corrosion Sinks, cutlery
steel

3) Explain why energy input is necessary ti extract a metal from its

ore
Energy required to:
1. Mine the ore
2. Purify/concentrate the ore
3. Maintain the high temperatures needed to make the reactions go
4. Purify the raw metal/form it into useful alloys
Energy required for production of 1kg of metal:
Metal Ores Recycling
Aluminium 200MJ 7MJ
Copper 70MJ 4MJ
Steel (mild) 40MJ 8MJ

4) Identify why there are more metals available for people to use
now than there were 200 years ago.
- How early/late in history a metal was extracted depends on reactivity (hence
ease of extraction from ore) and its ability to be found uncombined
- As technology becomes more sophisticated, more metals are discovered and
extracted
- Improved technology = ability top extract more reactive metals (e.g. Al and NA
only discovered with invention of electrolysis)

2. Metals differ in their reactivity with other chemicals and this influences
their uses.
5) Describe observable changes when metals react with dilute acid,
water and oxygen.
Dilute acid:
Metal + acid salt + hydrogen
Zn(s) + 2HCL(aq) ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)
Bubbles evolve, heat released.
All react except Cu, Ag, Au & Pt (Sn and Pb react slowly unless acid is heated).

Water:
Active metal + water hydrogen + base
2Na(s) + 2H2O(l) H2(g) + 2NaOH(aq)
Sn, Pb, Cu, Au, Pt do not react.

Oxygen:
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Metal + oxygen metal oxide

2Mg(s) + O2(g) 2MgO(s)
Crystalline solid forms, can adhere tightly impeding further reactions, glow/flare.
All except Au/Pt react.

Also, generally:
o Metals that react vigorously with dilute acid also react vigorously with water
and oxygen (active metals) e.g. sodium
o Metals that react less vigorously with dilute acid also react less vigorously with
water and oxygen (less active metals) e.g. zinc
o Metals that dont react with dilute acid also dont react with water or oxygen
(inactive metals) e.g. gold
- In all reactions atoms of the metal lose electrons to become positive ions
(ionisation)
When metals undergo ionisation, it is called oxidation

REDOX:
- Oxidation comes first, is about the element other than acid, water or O2.

- Reduction is when electron is gained, is about acid, water or O2.

- Eg, Mg(s) + 2HCl (aq) MgCl2 + H2

In this,
o Mg is ionised in product while Cl was an ion and remains so (ie, doesnt
change)
o Hydrogen was an ion but turns into atom in product.
o Therefore, change only in Mg and H (others are spectator ions)
- Half-Equation:
Mg (s) Mg2+(aq) + 2e- (Oxidisation)
2H+ + 2e- H2 (Reduction)
Therefore, transfer of electrons from Mg to H2
- Therefore, Net Ionic Equation is,
Mg (s) + 2H+ (aq) Mg2+ (aq) + H2 (g)

6) Describe and justify the criteria used to place metals into an

order of activity based on their ease of reaction with oxygen, water
and dilute acids.
-The more reactive the metal, the more vigorously it reacts with water, dilute acid
and oxygen
- More reactive metals lose electrons more easily

From reaction with oxygen: {Na, K, Ca} > {Mg, Al, Fe, Zn} > {Sn, Pb, Cu} > {Au, Ag,
Pt}
From reaction with water: {Na, K, Ca} > {Mg, Al, Fe, Zn} > {Sn, Pb, Cu, Au, Ag, Pt}
From reaction with dilute acid: {Mg, Al, Fe, Zn} > {Sn, Pb} > {Cu, Au, Ag, Pt}
METAL ACTIVIY SERIES:
- As we go down list, ease of losing electrons decreases, ease of oxidation decreases,
reactivity decreases,Reacts with:of reduction increases
and ease
- List order determined by displacement reactions + reactions with oxygen, water and acid
RULE: A more reactive solid metal will displace a less reactive metal in a solution
e.g. Mg(s) + CuSO4(aq) MgSO4(aq) + Cu(s)
- Copper will appear around reaction site (magnesium = reaction site)
- If copper put into MgSO4, opposite will not happen, as copper is less reactive

METAL ACTIVITY SERIES

Most reactive
Potassium
Sodium
Lithium
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Barium
Calcium
Magnesium
Aluminium
Zinc
Iron
Tin
Lead
Copper
Silver
Platinum Least reactive
Gold

- More active metals more recently discovered as their compounds are stable
and the metals are harder to extract (electrolysis- a relatively new discovery-
used to extract theses metals)
- Least active metals (e.g. gold) occur free in nature, and their compounds are
unstable
- Order of metals discovered and extracted is around the same as least to most
active in series

N.B. more reactive metals have more stable salts, less reactive metals have less
stable salts
Salts are a combined form of the metal, in less reactive metals they wont exist
for long breaks down to form pure metal

7) Identify the reaction of metals with acids as requiring the

transfer of electrons.
- Acids: substances which in solution produce hydrogen ions
- The hydrogen ion in acid reacts with the metal (metal lose electrons to become
positive, hydrogen gains electrons to become negative)

REDOX REACTIONS (reduction oxidation)

- Redox reactions involve transfer of electrons from one species to another.

- Reduction & oxidation occur simultaneously in complete chemical reactions, as
there can be no overall gain/loss of electrons
- Oxidation is losing electrons (becomes positive), reduction is gaining electrons
(becomes negative) O.I.L R.I.G
o Loss of hydrogen (oxidation), gain of hydrogen (reduction)
o Gain of oxygen (oxidation), loss of oxygen (reduction)
- Oxidation agent (oxidant) causes oxidation of another species
- Reduction agent (reductant) causes reduction of another species
Metals are always reductants, oxygen/hydrogen is always oxidant

8) Outline examples of the selection of metals for different purposes

based on their reactivity, with a particular emphasis on current
developments in the use of metals.
- As we go down the activity series, metal ions become easier to reduce to metal atoms
(to turn ions back to atoms, electrons must be added)
- Therefore the further down the activity series the metal is, the easier it is to extract
Some situations where choice of metal is based on reactivity:
Roof guttering for houses non-reactive but expensive aluminium or cheaper
galvanised iron (eventually corrodes)?
Water pipes expensive but non-reactive copper or cheaper corrodible iron?
Electrical equipment cheap copper (forms oxide coating) or expensive gold (does not
react)
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Body implants Expensive extremely inert titanium alloys or less expensive, but over
the long term corrosion-susceptible stainless steel?

9) Outline the relationship between the relative activities of metals

and their positions on the Periodic Table
- Metals generally decrease in reactivity going across from left to right of the periodic
table.
- Metals generally increase in reactivity going down the periodic table
- Left-right rule is more dominant than up-down rule (e.g. Na more reactive than Mg,
even though they are in the same row, but different columns)
- No trends/patterns for reactivity of transitional metals hence the rule is only
GENERAL
- Hence most reactive metals are located on the bottom left hand side, least reactive
top right (excluding noble gases)

More reactive
More reactive-
10) Identify the importance of first ionisation energy in determining
the relative reactivity of metals
First ionisation energy the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom of
the element.
The lower the ionisation energy, the easier it is to remove an electron the more reactive it
is.
Reactivity of metals increases as their ionisation energy decreases
Metals with high ionisation energies are less reactive, and vice versa
Ionisation Energy
Increase

Decrease Reactivity Increase

Decrease

Elements with low ionisation energies readily form positive ions, hence these elements
form ionic compounds (e.g. Na, Ca, Al)

3. As metals and other elements were discovered, scientists recognised that

patterns in their physical and chemical properties could be used to organise
the elements into a Periodic Table.
11) Identify an appropriate model that has been developed to
describe atomic structure.
- The periodic table shows electron, proton and neutron numbers, atomic mass, as well
as other trends such as relative reactivity and ionization energies
- This atom model shows atomic structure:

+
+
- + -

+ +

-
 Preliminary Chemistry Metals Dot Point Summary

12) Outline the history of the development of the Periodic Table

including its origins, the original data used to construct it and the
predictions made after its construction.
Dobereiner (1829) Drew attention to triads which had very similar properties (Li, Na,
K), (Ca, Sr, Ba).

Newlands (1864) Law of octaves: When elements arrange in order of increasing atomic
weight, the eighth element starting from a given one is a kind of repetition of the first like
the eighth note in an octave of music.

Mendeleev (1869) Produced table of elements arranging elements in order of increasing

atomic weight, and placed elements with similar properties under one another to obtain a
table which illustrated what they called the periodic law: Properties of the elements vary
periodically with their atomic weights. Mendeleev recognised that there were probably
elements in existence that had not been discovered at the time. He left gaps in his table for
these elements and predicted their properties.

Moseley (1914) Determined atomic number of elements and arranged periodic table by
atomic number. Put forward modified periodic law: Properties of the elements vary
periodically with their atomic numbers.

13) Explain the relationship between the position of the elements in

the Periodic Table, and :
Electrical conductivity
Decrease Increase
Ionisation energy
Increase Decrease
Atomic radius
- Atomic radius is size of the atom, half the diameter of the atom (measured in
nanometers)
Decrease Increase
Melting point
- solid changes to a liquid or liquid to gas

Gase
Cov. s
Metals net

Boiling point
SAME AS MELTING POINT
Combining power (valency)
- Valency equals group number (except transitional metals), so its constant for a group
- Valency increases across a period (note some elements have variable valencies)
Electronegativity
- Numerical measure of the ability of an atom of an element to attract bonding electrons
towards itself when forming compounds
Increase Decrease

Reactivity
Metals
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Decrease Increase
Non-metals (exceptions)
Increase Decrease

4. For efficient resource use, industrial chemical reactions must use

measured amounts of each reactant
14) Define the mole as the number of atoms in exactly 12g of
carbon-12 (Avogadros number).
A mole of a substance is that quantity which contains as many elementary units (e.g.
atoms, ions or molecules) as there are atoms in exactly 12 grams of carbon-12.
o 1 mole of any substance contains 6.02 x 1023 particles
o 1 mole of any element equals its atomic mass
o 1 mole of any compound equals the sum of its elements atomic masses for each
atom of the element (called formula mass)
o Therefore: a mole is simply the atomic or formula mass in grams
Molar mass: mass of 1 mole of the substance (either an element or compound)

E.g. 1 mole of hydrogen atoms = 1g

1 mole of hydrogen gas (hydrogen molecules) = 2g (H2 has two moles)
1 mole of carbon dioxide gas = 12.01 + (2 x 16) = 44.01g

To convert mass to moles:

m Where: n is number of moles

n=
M m is mass of the substance
M is mass of one mole of the substance

e.g. how many moles are in 0.35g of magnesium?

n= 0.35/24.31 = 0.0144 moles Grams (g)

The Mole Calculator:

x formula mass formula mass

Concentration volume(L) x Avogadros no.

Number of
(mol/L) Moles particles
x volume(L) Avogadros no.

x 24.79 24.79

Volume of gas (L) at Works with

25oC and 101.3kPa GASES ONLY
(standard lab
conditions)

Avogadro constant (NA) is number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of carbon-12.

NA= 6.02 x 1023 particles per mole
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Avogadros constant is the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of any substance

To calculate percent composition:

Mass of A in one mole of the compound

%A = X 100
Mass of one mole of the compound

For compound with formula AwByCz

W x (atomic mass of A)
%A = X 100
Formula mass of AwByCz

- Percent composition tells us the ration of elements present in a compound

Used to determine yield in mining

To calculate formula from experimental data:

Problem: When 5.12g of lithium metal was reacted with excess oxygen, it was completely
converted to 11.05g of lithium oxide. Determine the compounds formula.

Solution
Oxygen used: 11.05 5.12 = 5.93g
Moles of oxygen: 5.93 16 = 0.37 moles of oxygen
Moles of lithium: 5.12 6.9 = 0.74
0.74 moles of lithium combines with 0.37 moles of oxygen
Divide by the smallest number to get whole numbers: 0.74 0.37 with 0.37 0.37
2 moles with 1 mole
Therefore the formula of the compound is Li2O

The Mole and Chemical Equations:

Coefficients of a chemical equation determine mole ratios of the products and reactants
- Allows us to calculate masses of reactants and products

e.g. 2H2 + O2 2H2O

Coefficients are 2 : 1 2
So 2 hydrogen molecules reacts with 1 oxygen molecule to produce 2 water molecules
So 2 moles of hydrogen react with 1 mole of oxygen to produce 2 moles of water

Mass Calculations from Chemical Equations:

- Chemical equations can be used to:

1) Calculate mass of reactants needed to react completely with a given mass of a reactant
OR 2) Mass of a product formed from a given mass of a reactant
- Called mass-mass calculations

To calculate mass-mass calculations:

1) Write a balanced chemical equation

2) Calculate the number of moles of the given substance (where mass has been given)
Divide given mass by formula mass
3) Use the equation to find ratio for the required substance : given substance
This is equal to the ratio of the coefficients in the equation written in step 1 (write as
fraction)
 Preliminary Chemistry Metals Dot Point Summary

4) Use ratio to calculate no. moles of required substance (ratio x no. moles given
substance)
5) Calculate mass of required substance

Mass = number of moles x mass of one mole

15) Compare mass changes in samples of metals when they

combine with oxygen.
E.g.
1) 5.00g of aluminium is combusted to form aluminium oxide, the percentage increase
of mass was 89%. Calculate the mass of oxygen reacted.
4Al(s) + 3O2(g) 2Al2O3(s)
Moles aluminium = 5.00/26.98 = 0.185
Moles oxygen = 0.185 x = 0.319
Mass oxygen = 0.319 x 32 = 4.45g

2) Calculate empirical formula of aluminium oxide.

Al O
5.00/26.98 4.45/16
= 0.185 = 0.278
(x 0.185) (x 0.185)
Ratio =1 : 1.50
(x 2) (x 2)
=2 : 3
Empirical formula = Al2O3

3) Experiment 10 Determining empirical formula of magnesium oxide.

16) Describe the contribution of Gay-Lussac to the understanding

of gaseous reactions and apply this to an understanding of the
mole concept.
Gay-Lussac formed law of combining volumes in 1808: When measured at constant
temperature and pressure, the volumes of gases taking part in a chemical reaction
show simple whole number ratios to one another.
E.g. One volume of hydrogen + one volume of chlorine 2 volumes of hydrogen
chloride.
Initiated concept of the mole

17) Recount Avogadros law and its importance in developing the

mole concept.
Avogadros law: When measured at the same temperature and pressure, equal
volumes of gases contain the same number of molecules.
All gases:
1 mole at 100kPa + OoC 22.41 L
1 mole at 100kPa + 25oC 24.47 L

From Avogadros hypothesis; one molecule of hydrogen combines with one molecule of
chlorine to form two molecules two molecules of hydrogen chloride. Therefore a
molecule of hydrogen must contain at least two atoms of hydrogen as well as
chlorine.

Likewise, two molecules of hydrogen combine with one molecule of oxygen to form two
molecules of gaseous water. Because one molecule of oxygen contributes to two
molecules of water, it must contain at least two atoms of oxygen. Two molecules of
hydrogen (which cannot be monatomic as seen above) reacting with one
molecule of oxygen meant that water could not be HO, and so was most
likely H2O. No reactions could be found that required hydrogen, oxygen or chlorine to
 Preliminary Chemistry Metals Dot Point Summary

split into more than two atoms so it was therefore concluded that they are all
diatomic, and water was therefore H2O.

These hypotheses allowed chemists to use results from quantitative analysis to

determine formulae for compounds and hence relative atomic mass of elements.
Because the existence of formula and atomic weights, and hence the ability to write
chemical equations are essential for talking about the mole, their work can be said to
be critical in the development of the mole concept.

18) Distinguish between empirical formulae and molecular

formulae.
Empirical formula: the ratio in which the atoms are present in the compound.
Molecular formula: shows how many of each type of atom are present in a molecule of
the compound.
Calculating Empirical Formulas (similar to calculating formula from experimental
data):
1. Write down masses of all elements present in a given sample of the compound
Call percentages masses in 100g of the compound
2. Convert masses to moles by dividing by atomic mass
3. Divide through by the smallest number of moles to get simple ratio
4. If numbers arent whole numbers, multiply throughout by a suitable factor
5. Round off numbers in steps 3 or 4 to get whole numbers & use these to write the
formula

5. The relative abundance and ease of extraction of metals influences their

value and breadth of use in the community.
19) Define the terms mineral and ore with reference to economic
and non-economic deposits of natural resources.
- Mineral: a natural substance occurring in the Earths crust, which is a compound
(hence pure) with a definite composition and crystalline structure e.g. Al 2O3. Minerals
may or may not be ores; depending on how economic it is to extract a substance from
them.
- Ore: a compound or mixture of compounds (or minerals) from which it is economic
to extract a substance such as a metal e.g. bauxite (contains mineral Al2O3)

20) Describe the relationship between the commercial prices of

common metals and their actual abundances and relative costs of
production. (NOT DONE YET)
Factors affecting price of metals:
o Abundance and location of ores (less abundant ores attract higher royalties, hence
more expensive)
o Cost of extracting metal from ore (more reactive metals cost more to extract)
o Cost of transporting metal/ores to required location (rarity influences this)
- Greater demand, less abundance and/or expensive production costs = more
expensive to buy

21) Explain why ores are non-renewable resources.

- Ores unrenewable as they were formed when the earth was formed, and theres no
way of forming any more.
They are part of the earth, and we cannot produce more earth
- While we are unlikely to use up all sources of metal ores in the short term, we should
still use them as sparingly as possible so as to make them last for as long as possible.
 Preliminary Chemistry Metals Dot Point Summary

22) Describe the separation processes, chemical reactions and

energy considerations involved in the extraction of copper from
one of its ores. (NOT DONE YET)

23) Recount the steps taken to recycle aluminium. (NOT DONE

YET)
Alumina recovered from recycling and sorted into its alloy type
Sent to a smelter where it is melted in specially designed furnaces
Molten aluminium then analysed and composition adjusted
Cast into ingots and sent to manufacturers for use