AQA GCSE Science CHEMISTRY Unit C1.3 Metals and their uses

• Appreciate that metals are very useful in our everyday lives and used in a wide variety of situations.

• Know that ores are naturally occurring rocks that provide an economic starting point for the manufacture of metals.

• Know that iron ore is used to make iron and steel.

• Know that copper can be easily extracted but copper-rich ores are becoming scarce so new methods of extracting copper are being developed to exploit low grade ores - those with low concentrations of copper

• Know that aluminium and titanium are useful metals but are expensive to produce.

• Know that metals can be mixed together to make alloys to improve the metal's properties for a particular purpose.

• You are expected to be able to use your skills, knowledge and understanding to ...

  • Consider and evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts of exploiting metal ores, of using metals and of recycling metals.

  • You should know that metal ores are obtained by mining and that this may involve digging up and processing large amounts of rock.

  • Your knowledge and understanding of obtaining, using and recycling metals is limited to the metals named eg Fe, Cu, Al.

  • Be able to evaluate the benefits, drawbacks and risks of using metals as structural materials

  • Your expected knowledge and understanding of the uses and properties of metals and alloys is limited to those specified in the subject content ie Fe, Cu, Al and Ti.

    • Note that information may be given in examination questions so that candidates can evaluate their uses

• Introduction to Metal Extraction Notes

AQA GCSE Science CHEMISTRY Unit C1.3.1 Extracting metals

• a) Know that ores contain enough metal to make it economical to extract the metal.

  • Know that the economics of extraction may change over time with eg reduced by technological advances or increased by depletion of high grade ore reserves.

  • Knowledge of specific examples is not required but data may be provided in examination questions for you to analyse.

• b) Know that ores are mined and may be concentrated before the metal is extracted and purified.

  • Knowledge of specific examples other than those given below is not required.

• c) Know and understand that unreactive metals such as gold are found in the Earth as the metal itself but most metals are found as compounds that require chemical reactions to extract the metal.

• 

• Notes on Reactivity Series of Metals & Metal Reactivity Experiments-Observations

• d) Know that metals that are less reactive than carbon can be extracted from their oxides by reduction with carbon, for example iron oxide is reduced in the blast furnace to make iron (see diagram above).

  • Your knowledge and understanding should be limited to the reduction of oxides using carbon.

  • Your knowledge of reduction should be limited to the removal of oxygen here.

  • No knowledge of the details of the extraction of other metals is required.

    • Examination questions may provide further information about specific processes for you to interpret or evaluate.

    • Details of the blast furnace are not required.

    • Extraction of Iron and Steel Making Notes

• e) Know and understand that metals that are more reactive than carbon, such as aluminium, are extracted by electrolysis of molten compounds.

  • Know and understand that the use of large amounts of energy in the extraction of these metals makes them expensive to produce.

•  f) Know that copper can be extracted from copper-rich ores by heating the ores in a furnace (smelting).

  • Know that the copper can be purified by electrolysis.

  • Know that the supply of copper-rich (high grade) ores is limited.

  • Knowledge of the details of industrial methods of electrolysis is not required.

  • Details of industrial smelting processes are not required, but ...

    • Know that copper is extracted from its ores by chemical processes that involve heat or electricity.

    • Know that copper-rich ores are being depleted and traditional mining and extraction have major environmental impacts.

• g) Know that new ways of extracting copper from low-grade ores are being researched to limit the environmental impact of traditional mining.

  • Know that copper can be extracted by phytomining, or by bioleaching.

  • You should know and understand that:

    • phytomining uses plants to absorb metal compounds and that the plants are burned to produce ash that contains the metal compounds,

    • bioleaching uses bacteria to produce leachate solutions that contain metal compounds.

      • Further specific details of these processes are not required.

• h) Know that copper can be obtained from solutions of copper salts by electrolysis or by displacement using scrap iron.

  • You should know that during electrolysis positive ions move towards the negative electrode.

  • You do not need to describe this in terms of oxidation and reduction, or to understand half equations.

  • Extraction and Purification of Copper Notes

• i) Know that aluminium and titanium cannot be extracted from their oxides by reduction with carbon.

  • Know that current methods of extraction are expensive because:

    • there are many stages in the process,

    • and large amounts of energy are needed.

  • You do not need to know the details of methods used to extract these metals, but should be able to comment on and evaluate information that is given about the chemical processes that can be used.

•  j) We should recycle metals because extracting them uses limited resources and is expensive in terms of energy and effects on the environment.

  • You are not required to know details of specific examples of recycling, but should understand the benefits of recycling in the general terms specified here.

  • Notes on Economic & environmental Issues and recycling

AQA GCSE Science CHEMISTRY Unit C1.3.2 Alloys

• a) Know that iron from the blast furnace contains about 96% iron.

  • Know the impurities make the iron brittle and so it has limited uses.

  • Your knowledge of uses of blast furnace iron is limited to blast furnace iron being used as cast iron because of its strength in compression.

• b) Know that most iron is converted into steels.

  • Know that steels are alloys since they are mixtures of iron with carbon.

  • Know that some steels contain other metals.

  • Know that alloys can be designed to have properties for specific uses.

  • Know that low-carbon steels are easily shaped, high-carbon steels are hard, and stainless steels are resistant to corrosion.

  • Your knowledge and understanding of the types of steel and their properties is limited to those specified above.

  • Information about the composition of specific types of steel may be given in examination questions so that you can evaluate their uses.

  • Extraction of Iron and Steel Making Notes

• c) Know that most metals in everyday use are alloys.

  • Know that pure copper, gold, iron and aluminium are too soft for many uses and so are mixed with small amounts of similar metals to make them harder for everyday use.

    • You should be familiar with these specified examples but examination questions may contain information about alloys other than those named in the subject content to enable you to make comparisons.

    • Transition Metals notes including alloys and uses Notes

AQA GCSE Science CHEMISTRY Unit C1.3.3 Properties and uses of metals 

• a) Know that the elements in the central block of the periodic table are known as transition metals.

  • Know that like other metals, transition metals are good conductors of heat and electricity and can be bent or hammered into shape.

  • Know that transition metals are useful as structural materials and for making things that must allow heat or electricity to pass through them easily.

    • Knowledge of the properties of specific transition metals other than those named (eg Fe, Cu) in this unit is not required.

    • Transition Metals notes including alloys and uses Notes

• b) Know and understand that copper has properties that make it useful for electrical wiring and plumbing.

  • You should know and understand that copper:

    • is a good conductor of electricity and heat,

    • can be bent but is hard enough to be used to make pipes or tanks,

    • does not react with water.

• c) Know that low density and resistance to corrosion make aluminium and titanium useful metals.

• Revise your practical work to develop skills and understanding and should have included the following (which should also be revised, helps in understanding 'how science works' and context examination questions):

  • comparing less reactive metals (gold, silver, copper) with more reactive metals, eg in acid***

    • Notes on Reactivity Series of Metals & Metal Reactivity Experiments-Observations

  • heating metal oxides with carbon to compare reactivity, eg CuO, PbO, Fe₂O₃

  • heating copper carbonate with charcoal to produce copper,

  • displacement reactions, eg CuSO₄(aq) + Fe(s)  ==>

    • and appreciate using temperature sensors to investigate differences in metal reactivity by monitoring the rise in temperature.

  • investigation of the physical properties of metals and alloys, eg density, thermal and electrical conductivity,

  • electrolysis of copper sulfate solution using copper electrodes,

  • ignition tube demonstration of blast furnace – potassium permanganate, mineral wool plug, iron oxide mixed with carbon,

  • investigation of phytomining:

    • growing brassica plants in compost with added copper sulfate

    • spraying brassica plants (eg cabbage leaves) with copper sulfate solution,

    • ashing the plants (fume cupboard),

    • adding sulfuric acid to the ash, filtering and obtaining the metal from the solution by displacement or electrolysis.

• Useful on-site links to revision notes and quizzes:

  • Introduction to Metal Extraction Notes

  • Extraction of Iron and Steel Making Notes

  • Extraction of Aluminium Notes

  • Extraction and Purification of Copper Notes

  • Extraction of Lead, Zinc, Titanium and Chromium Notes

  • Economic & environmental Issues and recycling Notes

  • Transition Metals notes including alloys and uses Notes

  • How can metals be made more useful? (alloys of Al, Fe, steel etc.) Notes

  • The importance of titanium Notes

  • Word-fill - The Manufacture of Iron

  • Word-fill - Uses of alloys other metals

  • Word-fill - Transition Metal Properties and Uses