Extracting Metals and Reactivity Series

Metal Properties and Ores

  • Metals (such as Iron, gold, and Zinc) are found underground in the Earth's crust in ores.

  • General properties of metals include being shiny, malleable, having a high melting point, and being good conductors of heat and electricity.

  • A metal ore is defined as a rock that contains enough of a metal to make it worth extracting.

Oxidation and Reduction

  • Oxidation is defined as the gain of oxygen.

  • Reduction is defined as the loss of oxygen.

Reactivity Series and Extraction Methods

  • Metals can be extracted from their ores using two main methods depending on their reactivity relative to Carbon and Hydrogen:

    • Electrolysis: Required for metals more reactive than Carbon.

    • Potassium

    • Sodium

    • Lithium

    • Calcium

    • Magnesium

    • Aluminium

    • Displacement Reaction with Carbon: Used for metals less reactive than Carbon.

    • Zinc

    • Iron

    • Tin

    • Lead

    • General reaction equation: Carbon+metal oxide→heatCarbon dioxide+metal\text{Carbon} + \text{metal oxide} \xrightarrow{\text{heat}} \text{Carbon dioxide} + \text{metal}

    • Native State: Metals below Hydrogen in the reactivity series do not require chemical extraction.

    • Copper

    • Silver

    • Gold

    • Platinum

    • Found in their native state (pure) and do not need to react with anything.