Section 4-Inorganic Chemisty P2 Flashcards
(39 cards)
Why do the elements in group 1 become more reactive as you go down the group?
- they loose electrons more easily as they go down the group because:
- > as you go down the group the outermost electron is in a shell that’s further away from the nucleus
- > this increased distance means the attraction between the outermost electron and the nucleus is weaker
- > as you go down the group the atoms get bigger so the outermost electron is a lot more easily lost so the element is more reactive
Why does reactivity decrease as you go down group 7?
- Halogen only has to gain 1 electron to form a 1- ion with a stable electronic structure
- the easier it is for a halogen atom to attract an electron, the more reactive the halogen will be
- as you go down the group they become less reactive because it gets harder to attract the extra electron when its further away from the nuleus
What metals are found in an uncombined state?
Unreactive metals such as Gold (sometimes silver)
Why are some metals found in an uncombined state?
- they are very unreactive
- so they don’t form compounds with other elements
- so they exist in an uncombined, raw state
What metals are found in ores?
(sometimes silver)
-more reactive metals than silver
copper, tin, iron, zinc, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium
Define an ore:
A compound that contains enough of the metal to make it worthwhile extracting.
-there are limited amounts of them, they’re finite resources
What are the two main methods of extraction of metals from ores?
If a metal is more reactive than carbon:
-have to use electrolysis
If a metal is less reactive than carbon:
-use a reduction reaction using carbon
Reactivity series:
Potassium Sodium Calcium Magnesium Aluminium CARBON Zinc Iron Tin Copper Silver Gold
How is a reduction reaction used to extract metals less reactive than carbon from their ores?
- by heating the ore with carbon monoxide
- this works because carbon is more reactive than these elements so it displaces the oxygen from the ore to form carbon dioxide
What piece of equipment is used for the extraction of iron?
iron oxide is reduced in a blast furnace to make iron
How is electrolysis used to extract metals more reactive than carbon from their ores?
The more reactive the metal is, the harder it is to extract from a compound (very reactive metals form very stable ores)
-electrolysis uses an electric current to separate the metal from other elements in the compound
What common properties do iron, aluminium and copper have?
- dense and lustrous(shiny)
- have high melting points
- high tensile strength (strong, hard to break)
- malleable (can be hammered into different shapes)
- good conductors of electricity and heat
What are the uses of iron?
-wrought irons is almost completely pure iron, it’s malleable so its used for gates and railings
What is the main problem with iron?
That it corrodes easily
What are the uses of aluminium?
- aluminium doesn’t corrode easily (it reacts quickly with the air to form a strong layer of aluminium oxide, which stops any further reactions from taking place), so it’s used for drinks cans
- aluminium is a lot less dense than iron, so it’s used in bike frames and aeroplanes
What are the uses of copper?
-copper is an especially good conductor of heat and electricity, it’s used in electrical components and wiring, as well as heating systems (such as underfloor heating)
Why do pure metals not always have the properties needed?
The regular structure of metals often makes them too soft for use in everyday life
What is an alloy?
Alloys are made by adding other elements to the metal
Why are alloys stronger and harder forms of alloys?
- because alloys contain more than one type of elements
- elements have different sized atoms
- these different sizes distort the layers so it’s harder for the layers to slide over each other
What are alloys of iron called?
Steels
-they are made by adding small amounts of carbon and sometimes other metals to iron
What is brass made up of?
Brass is an alloy made up of, copper and zinc
What is bronze made up of?
Bronze is an alloy made of copper and tin
What is the property and use of low carbon steel?
low carbon steel (0.1%-0.3%)
property - easily shaped
use - car bodies
What is the property and use of high carbon steel?
high carbon steel(0.22%-2.5%)
property - very strong, brittle, inflexible
use - bridges