Obtaining & Using Metals Practice Questions

Which of these metals is found in the Earth's crust as the uncombined element?

Put a cross ( ☒ ) in the box next to your answer.

☐ A aluminium
☐ B gold
☐ C iron
☐ D zinc

Explain why this metal is found as the uncombined element.

Name the type of reaction that takes place when a metal oxide is converted into the metal during extraction.

Use the results to put the four metals in order of reactivity, from the least reactive to the most reactive.

least reactive .................. .................. .................. .................. most reactive

State two observations the student would make when the piece of magnesium is added to copper(II) sulfate solution.

A life-cycle assessment (LCA) of an aluminium drinks can considers four stages.

Two of the stages are obtaining the raw materials and manufacturing the can.

State the other two stages considered in the LCA.

Give two advantages of recycling aluminium cans rather than extracting aluminium from its ore.

Zinc is extracted by heating zinc oxide with carbon.

Explain why zinc can be extracted using this method.

Magnesium is extracted by the electrolysis of molten magnesium chloride.

Explain why extracting magnesium costs more than extracting zinc.

Write the balanced equation for this reaction.

State which substance is reduced in this reaction. Give a reason for your answer in terms of oxygen.

State two observations the student would make after one hour.

Write the ionic equation for the reaction that takes place.

The student then places a piece of silver into copper(II) sulfate solution.

Predict what the student would observe. Give a reason for your prediction.

Describe how copper metal can be obtained from the leachate.

Give one advantage and one disadvantage of using bioleaching to obtain copper, compared with mining the ore and heating it with carbon.

State one observation the student would make when a piece of calcium is added to cold water.

Write the word equation for the reaction of calcium with water.

Potassium reacts much more vigorously with cold water than calcium does.

Explain why potassium is placed above calcium in the reactivity series.

Gold is a suitable metal for jewellery because it

Put a cross ( ☒ ) in the box next to your answer.

☐ A is reduced by carbon in air
☐ B reacts quickly with oxygen in air
☐ C does not react with oxygen in air
☐ D is the most reactive metal in the reactivity series

Explain, in terms of the reactivity series, why silver jewellery tarnishes but gold jewellery does not.

Name the type of reaction that takes place when a metal gains oxygen from the air.

A drinks company must choose between aluminium cans and steel cans. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out on each type of can. Some of the data are shown in the table.

Evaluate the data to decide which type of can has the lower impact on the environment.

Explain why the copper is neither oxidised nor reduced in this reaction.

Zinc powder is then added to the copper sulfate solution and a displacement reaction takes place.

Write the half equation for the oxidation and the half equation for the reduction.

An old industrial site has soil that is contaminated with low concentrations of nickel compounds. There is not enough nickel in the soil for traditional mining to be worthwhile.

A company plans to grow a nickel-tolerant plant on the site and use phytoextraction to obtain the nickel.

Evaluate the use of phytoextraction to obtain nickel from this site, compared with extracting nickel from its ore.