Part III

Metals
Part III
Metals

Aluminium has a lot of applications. One of them is

to make soft drink cans.

Chapter 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Chapter 11 Reactivity of metals
Chapter 12 Reacting masses
Chapter 13 Corrosion of metals and their protection
Chapter 10
Occurrence and extraction of metals
10.1 Uses and properties of metals
10.2 Occurrence of metals in nature
10.3 Extraction of metals from their ores
10.4 Discovery of metals
10.5 Conserving metals

Learning goal
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

10.1 • relate the uses of some common metals to their properties

10.2 • state the sources of metals and their occurrence in nature

10.3 • explain why extraction of metals is needed

• understand that the extraction of metals involves reduction of their ores

• describe and explain the major methods of extraction of metals from their ores

• write word equations for the extraction of metals

• relate the ease of obtaining metals from their ores to the reactivity of the metals

10.4 • deduce the order of discovery of some metals from their relative ease of extraction

10.5 • describe metal ores as a finite resource and hence the need to recycle metals

• discuss the importance and problems of recycling metals

Chapter 10 Occurrence and extraction of
metals

Hong Kong cyclist Lee Wai Sze won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games held in London.
What do you think the bronze medal is made of? Are gold medals and silver medals made of pure gold
and pure silver respectively?

You may be surprised to learn that a gold medal has more silver than gold in it. It is made of
92.5% silver, 6.2% copper and only 1.3% gold. A silver medal contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.
A bronze medal contains copper, tin and zinc.

Think about...
Where do gold and silver come from?
Silver comes from its ore — argentite. Gold exists in nature in free state.
How can we obtain copper, tin and zinc?
Copper, tin and zinc can be obtained by heating their ores with carbon.
What are the properties of gold, silver, copper and zinc?
Refer to Section 10.1 on p.4 to 6 of this chapter for details.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to answer the above questions.
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

10.1 Uses and properties of metals

PowerPoint
Metals have characteristic properties which make them different from
other materials such as wood, rock, glass and plastic. Because of their
characteristic properties, metals can be used in many different ways (Figure
10.1).
Construction

Transportation

Making tools and other objects

Figure 10.1 Metals are used in many different ways.

3 10
 III Metals

Table 10.1 lists the uses of some common metals. You can see that the
uses of metals are closely related to their properties.

Metal Uses Reasons for use

Iron constructions, car and hard, strong, malleable and ductile,

ship bodies cheap

Copper electric wires very good conductor of electricity,

CE2004(II)13 CE2000(I)3(a) very ductile, corrosion resistant

water pipes non-poisonous, strong, malleable

and ductile, corrosion resistant

cooking utensils excellent conductor of heat,

non-poisonous, strong, malleable,
corrosion resistant

Aluminium overhead good conductor of electricity, N1,

Note 1
power cables low density, ductile, cheaper than N2
Aluminium is more than
twice as conductive of CE2000(I)3(a) copper
electricity as the same
mass of copper.

Note 2
(a) Aluminium weighs aircraft bodies low density but strong, corrosion
only 34% as the resistant
same volume of
iron.
(b) Aluminium cables
are much lighter kitchen foil very good conductor of heat,
than copper cables. non-poisonous, corrosion resistant,
Thus, the pylons
supporting them
very malleable
can be less sturdily
built, with a saving
in cost. soft drink cans non-poisonous, low density (hence
Note 3 CE2001(II)36 convenient to carry), corrosion N3
The aluminium oxide resistant, very malleable
layer on the surface of
soft drink cans can be
dyed to give various
attractive colours.
window frames corrosion resistant, strong N4
Note 4
The protective oxide
layer can be thickened
by anodization.

10 4 construction 建築
cooking utensil 煮食器具
overhead power cable 架空電纜
window frame 窗框
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

CE2001(II)4

Metal Uses Reasons for use

Titanium supersonic aircraft low density but very strong, very
Note 6 bodies corrosion resistant, malleable, N5
Titanium does not react
extremely high melting point
with our body fluid.
Hence, it does not
corrode inside our body.
metal implants in low density but very strong, very
human body corrosion resistant, can be easily N6
CE2002(II)27` shaped, biocompatible

Gold jewellery, attractive golden yellow colour,

coins extremely corrosion resistant (so
always shiny), most malleable and
ductile, quite soft when pure

Mercury thermometers liquid at room conditions, expands

on heating

Silver jewellery, coins attractive silvery colour, corrosion

resistant, malleable and ductile,
moderately soft

electrical and best conductor of electricity,

electronic malleable and ductile, corrosion
components resistant

Table 10.1 Uses of some metals and their properties related to the uses. CE2008(I)12(b) N7

Note 7
Note 5
Tungsten can be used to make filaments in light bulbs because it has an extremely high melting point.
(a) Titanium weighs only 60% as
the same volume of steel. But
XTRA
both are equally strong. E Everyday chemistry
S

(b) At high temperature, titanium

remains strong and its shape
is not distorted. (When
speeding through air, a
supersonic aircraft becomes
heated up by friction with air.)
Titanium for tooth implantation
titanium screw
A broken tooth is usually replaced for better
appearance and chewing food. Titanium is the
main material used for tooth implantation today.
The main reason is that titanium is biocompatible.
A titanium screw is usually used to secure an
artificial tooth to the jawbone. The bone tissue
will grow and keep the artificial tooth in place.

jawbone

artificial 人造的
biocompatible 具生物相容性
implant 植體
jawbone 顎骨
5 10

electrical and electronic component screw 螺絲

電器或電子元件 supersonic aircraft 超音速飛機
 III Metals

H20 Example 10.1

Relating the use of metals to their properties
The table below shows some information of gold, copper, silver, zinc and titanium.

Relative Relative heat Relative electrical

Relative Melting strength of conductivity conductivity Other
Metal price of point metal of metal of metal characteristics
metal (°C) (1 = lowest; (1 = lowest; (1 = lowest; of metal
4 = highest) 5 = highest) 5 = highest)

attractive golden
most yellow colour,
Gold 1063 1 4 4
expensive extremely
corrosion resistant

Copper cheapest 1084 3 2 2 corrosion resistant

attractive silvery
very
Silver 961 2 5 5 colour, corrosion
expensive
resistant

poisonous, quite
Zinc medium 420 1 3 3
corrosion resistant

low density, strong,

very
Titanium 1668 4 1 1 very corrosion
expensive
resistant

Answer the following questions using the information given in the table.
(a) Which two metals are widely used in making jewellery? Explain your answer.
(b) Which metal is the best conductor of heat? Give a reason why we do not use this metal to make
cooking utensils.
(c) Which metal is used to make supersonic aircraft bodies? Explain your choice.
(d) Which metal is the best conductor of electricity? Give a reason why copper is usually used instead
of this metal to make electric wires.
(e) Explain why zinc is not used to make food cans.

Solution
(a) Gold and silver. Both of them have an attractive shiny appearance and are expensive. Besides, they
are corrosion resistant.
(b) Silver. It is because silver is very expensive.
(c) Titanium. It is because titanium has low density, is strong and corrosion resistant. Also, it has a
very high melting point. It enables the aircraft to withstand high temperatures caused by the large
friction between the body and air.
(d) Silver. Copper is commonly used to make electric wires because it is much cheaper.
(e) It is poisonous.
Try Chapter Exercise Q14

10 6 friction 摩擦力
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

A10.1 Class practice 10.1

(a) Copper. This is because it is non-
poisonous, strong, malleable and Suggest a metal which is suitable for each of the following purposes. Explain
ductile and corrosion resistant.
your choice in each case.
(b) Aluminium. This is because it is
strong and corrosion resistant. (a) Making water pipes
(c) Mercury. This is because it is a
(b) Making window frames
liquid at room conditions. It
expands on heating. (c) Making thermometers

PowerPoint
10.2 Occurrence of metals in nature
XTRA
E Do you know? Metals are found in rocks in the Earth’s crust. Very few metals, such as
S

About 24% by mass gold and platinum, are found in nature in free state (Figure 10.2(a) and
of the Earth’s crust (b)). Most metals combine with other elements to form compounds
are metals.
(usually oxides, carbonates or sulphides of the metal).

Think about Rocks which contain useful minerals are called ores. Most of the N8
Why do you think gold
metals we use are obtained from metal ores. Figure 10.2(c)–(f) shows some
and platinum occur in
free state in nature? common metal ores. Note 8
(a) Only those minerals which are worth mining to extract metals are
Think about called metal ores. Thus, a mineral may NOT necessarily be an ore.
Gold and platinum (b) Most ores are mixtures of substances. For example, bauxite is about
are unreactive. They 75% Al2O3, 25% Fe2O3 (hence the colour of bauxite is brown);
do not combine with haematite is 85% or more Fe2O3; galena is only about 15% PbS.
other elements to
form compounds.

(a) A gold nugget — gold (b) A platinum nugget — (c) Bauxite — the main ore of
occurs in free state in platinum occurs in free state aluminium. It contains mainly
nature. in nature. aluminium oxide (Al2O3). N9

(d) Copper pyrite — the main (e) H

 aematite — the main ore (f) Galena — the main ore of
ore of copper. It contains of iron. It contains mainly lead. It contains mainly
mainly copper iron sulphide iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3). lead(II) sulphide (PbS).
(CuFeS2). Note 9
Pure aluminium oxide is white. The bauxite
Figure 10.2 Some common metal ores found in nature. shown in Figure 10.2(c) is brown because it
contains appreciable amounts of iron(III) oxide.
bauxite 鋁土礦
copper pyrite 黃銅礦
haematite 赤鐵礦
metal ore 金屬礦石
gold nugget 金塊
platinum nugget 鉑塊
7 10

galena 方鉛礦
 III Metals

Activity 10.1

PowerPoint The occurrence and uses of metals

Search the Internet (or other resources) for the occurrence of metals and the
uses of metals in daily life. Present your findings by preparing a set of
PowerPoint slides.

10.3 Extraction of metals from their ores

PowerPoint
Before metals can be used for different purposes, they have to be separated
from their ores. The process of separating a metal from its ore is called
extraction.

Unreactive metals like gold can be extracted from its ore by panning
which is a physical method. See Figure 10.3. Metals that are found in the
form of compounds in nature can be extracted from their ores by using
chemical methods. There are three common chemical methods:

1. Heating the metal ore alone

2. Heating the metal ore with carbon
3. Electrolysis of the molten ore
Figure 10.3 Gold panning

Heating the metal ore alone

Note 10
(a) If a gas relights a glowing Extraction of silver from its ore
splint, we usually conclude
that the gas is oxygen.
However, another possibility
Some unreactive metals can be extracted by heating their ores alone. Silver
would be dinitrogen oxide oxide (found in some silver ore) decomposes to silver metal and oxygen on
(N2O).
(b) In comparison, a burning
strong heating (Figure 10.4).
splint should be used to test CE2001(II)38
heat
for hydrogen in the ‘pop’ silver oxide silver + oxygen
sound test.
black silvery

glowing
splint oxygen glowing
silver gas splint N10
oxide relighted

Figure 10.4 Decomposition of silver oxide by strong heating and test for the oxygen evolved by using a glowing splint.

10 8 extraction 提取
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Extraction of mercury from its ore DSE2014(IA)14

Mercury can be extracted from mercury(II) sulphide (found in the ore

called cinnabar, see Figure 10.5) by heating it strongly in air.
heat
mercury(II) sulphide + oxygen mercury + sulphur dioxide
red silvery

Figure 10.5 A piece of

cinnabar.
CE1999(II)31
CE2007(I)6(a)
Heating the metal ore with carbon (carbon
reduction)
Some metals like zinc, iron and lead cannot be extracted by heating their
metal ores alone. They are extracted by heating their ores with carbon at
* Book 1, Section 4.2, p.7
high temperatures. This method of extracting metals is called *carbon
reduction.

CE2001(II)38 Extraction of lead from its ore

Note 11
(a) There is a competition for oxygen.
At high temperatures, carbon
attracts oxygen more strongly
than lead does. Hence, carbon
can take oxygen away from
lead(II) oxide.
(b) Besides carbon, carbon monoxide
and hydrogen can also reduce
oxides of metals low in the metal
reactivity series. For example,
CuO(s) + CO(g) Cu(s) + CO2(g);
PbO(s) + H2(g) Pb(s) + H2O()
Lead exists as lead(II) sulphide (PbS) in its ore, galena. The extraction are
divided into two steps. Firstly, the ore galena is heated strongly in air to
form lead(II) oxide:
heat
lead(II) sulphide + oxygen lead(II) oxide + sulphur dioxide
The lead(II) oxide formed in the reaction is then heated with carbon
and is changed to lead.
heat
lead(II) oxide + carbon lead + carbon dioxide N11
In the laboratory, we can extract lead from lead(II) oxide by heating the
oxide with carbon powder in a crucible (Figure 10.6). At the temperature of
a Bunsen flame (about 600°C), carbon removes oxygen from lead(II) oxide,
giving lead metal.

CE1999(I)2(c) mixture of carbon

CE2009(I)2(b)(i) crucible and lead(II) oxide
pipe-clay crucible
Learning tip triangle tripod

We can also extract

copper from mixture of carbon
copper(II) oxide by and lead(II) oxide
tripod
carbon reduction
heat
using this set-up.

pipe-clay
triangle

Figure 10.6 Experimental set-up for carrying out carbon reduction of lead(II) oxide.

carbon reduction 碳還原作用

cinnabar 硃砂
9 10
 III Metals

Class practice 10.2

A10.2
Step 1: zinc sulphide + oxygen
heat
Step 2: zinc oxide + carbon
Zinc blende is a common ore of zinc. It contains mainly zinc sulphide. Similar
to the case of the extraction of lead, the extraction of zinc from zinc sulphide
involves two steps. Write the word equations involved in these steps.
heat
zinc oxide + sulphur dioxide
zinc + carbon dioxide
Extraction of iron from its ore
Iron is extracted from its ore in a blast furnace. The raw materials are iron
ore (i.e. haematite), coke (a form of carbon, obtained from coal), limestone
and air. See Figure 10.7.

iron ore + coke +

limestone

hot waste gas

250°C
700°C
furnace gets
hotter
800°C–
1000°C
Note 12
In the blast furnace, coke is oxidized to CO2:
heat 1500°C
C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g) hot air blast
A large amount of heat is liberated. As CO2
moves upwards, it reacts with coke to form CO:
heat hot air blast
CO2(g) + C(s) 2CO(g) molten slag molten slag
runs off
Note 13 molten iron molten iron
Limestone is decomposed to CaO and CO2 on runs off
heating. CaO then reacts with the impurities
called Gangue to form slag. Slag is a mixture of
CaSiO3 and Ca(AlO2)2. Figure 10.7 Cross section of a blast furnace

XTRA
E Do you know?
S

During the extraction, a mixture of iron ore, coke and limestone is

Slag forms when
limestone removes the
added to the top of the furnace. Hot air is blasted into the furnace from the
impurities in the iron bottom. Oxygen from the air reacts with coke in a chain of chemical
ore. It is a useful N12
reactions to form carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide then removes
by-product which can
be used in road- oxygen from iron(III) oxide, producing iron metal.
making and cement
manufacturing. N13
iron(III) oxide + carbon monoxide iron + carbon dioxide

10 10 blast furnace 鼓風爐

coke 焦炭
molten slag 熔渣
zinc blende 閃鋅礦
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Note 14 At the high temperatures inside the furnace, the iron formed is melted
Bauxite usually contains compounds
of iron and silicon as impurities, but it (i.e. in molten form). Dense molten iron runs off at the bottom of the
can be purified by the following way: furnace.
First, treat bauxite with sodium
hydroxide solution. The aluminium
oxide and compounds of silicate will
be converted to soluble sodium Electrolysis of the molten ore CE2004(II)16
tetrahydroxoaluminate and soluble CE2007(I)6(c)(i)
silicate respectively. Oxide of iron has
no reaction with alkali. It can be
Extraction of metals by electrolysis is an expensive method but it is an
removed from the reaction mixture by effective method for some reactive metals e.g. sodium, magnesium and
filtration.
–
Al2O3(s) + 2OH (aq) + 3H2O()
aluminium. It is expensive because a large amount of electricity is used.
–
2[Al(OH)4] (aq) Part of the electricity is used to keep the ore in molten form during
Then, treat the filtrate with carbon
dioxide. Carbon dioxide ionizes electrolysis.
+
slightly in water to give H (aq),
–
which can convert [Al(OH)4] (aq)
to Al(OH)3(s). Silicate has no
Aluminium can be extracted from its ore bauxite by electrolysis (Figure
reaction with acid and will remain 10.8). During electrolysis, purified ore is melted and electricity is then N14
in the filtrate. Al(OH)3(s) can be
filtered off from the reaction
passed through the ore to extract the metal from it. The process is shown
mixture.
– +
as follows:
[Al(OH)4] (aq) + H (aq)
electricity
Al(OH)3(s) + H2O() aluminium oxide aluminium + oxygen
Finally, heat the Al(OH)3(s)
(from bauxite)
obtained strongly to regenerate
Al2O3(s).
heat
2Al(OH)3(s) Al2O3(s) + 3H2O()

CE2003(II)5 graphite (positive

electrode) graphite
Learning tip (negative
Aluminium oxide has electrode)
a very high melting
point (2047°C).
Cryolite (Sodium
aluminium fluoride,
a molten mixture of
Na3AlF6) is added to aluminium ore
lower the melting (bauxite) and cryolite
point to about 950°C.

molten aluminium
AL2007(II)4(a)(ii)
tapping hole
steel cell

Figure 10.8 Electrolysis of aluminium ore

Sodium metal can be obtained by electrolysis of molten sodium

chloride. Details of the process will be discussed in Chapter 32.

cryolite 冰晶石
electrolysis 電解
tapping hole 喉管插孔
11 10
 III Metals

A10.3 Class practice 10.3

(a) Heating the metal ore alone.
silver sulphide + oxygen
heat
Metals are usually extracted from their ores before use. State the method of
silver + sulphur dioxide extraction for the following metals. Write the relevant word equation for each
(b) Electrolysis of the molten ore of the extraction.
electricity
sodium chloride sodium + (a) Silver from argentite which consists of silver sulphide
chlorine
(b) Sodium from rock salt which consists of sodium chloride
(c) Heating the metal ore with carbon/
carbon reduction (c) Iron from haematite which consists of iron(III) oxide
iron(III) oxide + carbon monoxide
iron + carbon dioxide

Experiment 10.1 Experiment Workbook 1

PowerPoint Experiment Extracting metals from metal oxides

Video You are going to extract metals by heating metal oxides or by heating metal
oxides with carbon.

STSE connections 10.1

PowerPoint
Biomining for metal extraction
Copper is found in the Earth’s crust mainly as its sulphides. Traditionally, the extraction of copper requires
heating the ores in air at a high temperature. However, the method is expensive and often causes pollution.
Scientists have developed a new technology called biomining to reduce the impacts on the environment during
the extraction of copper.
Biomining is a method that uses bacteria to extract metals from metal ores. In biomining for copper,
bacteria obtain energy by breaking down the copper compounds. At the same time, the bacteria produce an
acidic solution that washes copper out from the ore.
Compared with traditional metal extraction methods, biomining is inexpensive. It does not produce
toxic by-products or gases and does not require fuels to provide high temperature conditions. However, the
bacteria only live at 35°C to 40°C. Thus, the extraction is slow.

STSE connections 10.1

1. Bacteria
2. Biomining is inexpensive. It does not
produce toxic by-products or gases
A biomining plant in Chile and does not require fuels to provide
high temperature conditions.
Questions for discussion:
3. The process of metal extraction is
1. What substance is used to extract copper from its ores by biomining? slow.

2. From the economic and environmental perspectives, what are the advantages of metal extraction using
biomining?
3. What is the limitation of metal extraction by biomining?

10 12 argentite 輝銀礦
biomining 生物採礦法
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

10.4 Discovery of metals

PowerPoint
According to the main types of materials used by humans, historians
divided human history into four main different periods, namely The
Stone Age, The Copper Age, The Bronze Age and The Iron Age.

In different ages, different materials were used to make various objects

such as tools, weapons, containers, etc., as summarized in Figure 10.10 on
p.14 and p.15.

From the timeline shown in Figure 10.10, you may see that the
development of human civilization is closely related to the order of
discovery of metals. Then what affects the order of discovery of metals?

Relating the order of discovery of metals to the

ease of extraction of metals
The Earth’s crust is a mixture of many substances. The percentage by mass
of elements in the Earth’s crust is shown in Figure 10.9.

silicon
27.7%
oxygen
46.6%

aluminium
8.1%
iron
5.0%
CE2002(II)8

all other elements

1.5%
magnesium
2.1% sodium calcium
potassium 2.8% 3.6%
2.6%

Figure 10.9 Percentage abundance by mass of elements in the Earth’s crust.

CE2002(II)8 The most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust is aluminium. However,
DSE2012(IA)9
it has not been widely used until the 20th century. Although iron is less
abundant than aluminium in the Earth’s crust, it is easier to be extracted
CE2000(II)50
from its ore. This explains why iron was discovered and used much earlier
than aluminium.

13 10
 III Metals

The Stone Age (2 500 000–4000 B.C.)

Stones and animal bones were used as tools and weapons.
Gold and silver were used by humans as early as 5000 B.C.

millstone ivory weapon silver plate gold bowl

The Stone Age The Copper Age

(2 500 000–4000 B.C.) (4000–3000 B.C.)

The Copper Age (4000–3000 B.C.)

Humans knew how to extract copper from its ores.
They started to use copper to make containers, weapons, etc.

copper container copper pot copper sword

Figure 10.10 The timeline of human civilization and the discovery of metals.

10 14
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

CE1999(I)7(a)(i) CE2000(I)3(c)

The Bronze Age (3000–1000 B.C.)

After knowing how to extract tin from its ores, humans mixed tin with copper
to increase the hardness of copper. The new material formed was called
bronze. Bronze was widely used to make weapons, armour, musical
instruments and statues.

bronze helmet bronze musical instrument bronze statue

The Bronze Age The Iron Age Around

(3000–1000 B.C.) (1000 B.C.–present) A.D. 1800

The Iron Age (1000 B.C.–present) Around A.D. 1800

Humans developed the method for extracting iron
from its ores. When a small amount of carbon is
added to iron, an alloy called steel is produced.
Steel is a better material than bronze in many
applications and hence gradually replaced bronze.
Human developed methods for extracting reactive
metals such as aluminium from its ores. Aluminium
has been widely used since the 20th century.

iron scissors steel golf club

aluminium soft drink cans
alloy 合金
bronze 青銅
steel 鋼
15 10
 III Metals

Different metals are extracted by different methods. You may find that
the ease of extraction of metals is related to the order of discovery of
metals. Common ores of some metals and their methods of extraction are
listed in Table 10.2.
CE2000(I)6(a)(i)(1)

Main ore/source Major metallic

Year of
Most Metal from which metal compound Usual method of extraction
difficult discovery
is obtained in the ore/source
in deposits and sea
Potassium 1807 A.D. KCl
water
common salt in sea
Sodium 1807 A.D. NaCl
water; rock salt
electrolysis of molten ore
Calcium 1808 A.D. limestone CaCO3
CE2007(I)6(c)
CE2009(I)2(b)(ii) Magnesium 1808 A.D. magnesite MgCO3
DSE2013(IA)5
DSE2012(IA)9 Aluminium 1827 A.D. bauxite Al2O3․2H2O

Step 1:
heat in air
sulphide oxide
extraction
Ease of

Zinc 1746 A.D. zinc blende ZnS

Step 2:
heat with carbon
oxide metal N15

heat with carbon

Iron 3000 B.C. haematite Fe2O3 oxide metal

CE2008(II)34 Lead galena PbS similar to that of Zn

Copper copper pyrites CuFeS2 heat in air

ancient sulphide metal N16
CE2011(II)27 Mercury cinnabar HgS
(B.C.)
argentite (or as free displacement from
Silver Ag2S
element) solution
mechanical separation
Platinum (as free element) Pt
(to get rid of impurities)
mechanical separation
Easiest Gold 5000 B.C. (as free element) Au
(to get rid of impurities)
Table 10.2 Methods of extraction of some metals from common ores. Note 15
Alternatively, zinc oxide is converted to zinc
CE1999(I)7(a)(i)(1) sulphate solution by adding sulphuric acid to it.
DSE2013(IB)7(c) Zinc is then extracted from zinc sulphate solution
by electrolysis.
Key point
In general, the more easily a metal can be extracted, the earlier it
CE1999(I)7(a)(i)(1)
was discovered in history. Note 16
Copper and mercury are quite unreactive. Therefore, in the
controlled heating of their sulphides in air, the sulphide will
be oxidized to sulphur dioxide, leaving the metals behind,
e.g. HgS + O2 Hg + SO2

10 16 magnesite 菱鎂礦
mechanical separation 物理分離法
get rid of 除去
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Think about
The demand of a metal will also Factors affecting the availability of metals
affect the price of a metal.

Think about
Other than the
availability, what factor
do you think will affect
the price of a metal?
In fact, the availability (and hence price) of a metal depends mainly on:
1. Abundance of the metal in the Earth’s crust
2. Ease and cost of mining the ore
3. Ease and cost of extracting the metal from its ore

In general, the less available a metal is, the more expensive it is.

Class practice 10.4

1. P, Q and R are three different metals. When each of the ores of these metals is heated strongly in air, only
the ore of Q gives a solid with metallic lustre. When ores of P and R are heated with powdered carbon
respectively, the ore of R gives a solid with metallic lustre. It is found that, P can only be extracted from its
molten ore by electrolysis.
(a) Arrange the metals in order of decreasing ease of extraction from their ores, i.e. the easiest first.
(b) Deduce the order of discovery of the metals, the earliest first. Explain your answer briefly.

2. The table below lists some information about iron and gold:

Relative
Explain the following statements:
Metal Year of discovery (a) Gold is rare but it was discovered much
abundance (%)
Iron 3000 B.C. 5.0
earlier than iron.
(b) Gold is expensive although it exists as free
Gold 5000 B.C. 0.0000004
element in nature.
A10.4
1. (a) Q, R, P
(b) Q, R, P. The more easily a metal can be
extracted, the earlier it is discovered.

10.5 Conserving metals

2. (a) Gold is less reactive than iron. It can be
easily obtained by physical method.
(b) This is because gold is very rare.
PowerPoint
Need for conserving metals
Metals ores in the Earth’s crust are limited in amount and non-
renewable. If we go on using metals at the same rate as at present, the
supply of many metals will soon run out. Figure 10.11 shows an estimated
reserve of some metals.

Tin: 20 years

Lead: 20 years

Gold: 20 years

Zinc: 21 years

Figure 10.11 An estimate of how Copper: 39 years

long some metals will last. (Source Iron: 75 years
of information: US Geological
Aluminium: 133 years
Survey Mineral Commodity
Summaries, 2011) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

non-renewable 不可再生的 lustre 光澤

17 10
 III Metals

Conserving metals is important. We should use metals wisely so that

metal resources can last longer.

STSE connections 10.2

PowerPoint
Steel production in Mainland China
The steel production in Mainland China has been growing rapidly each year because of the great demand
for construction of cars, buildings and appliances. The steel production in Mainland China was 626.7 million
metric tonnes (mmt) in 2010. In 2011, it increased to 695.5 mmt. The world steel production was 1527 mmt in
2011. China alone accounted for 45.5% of the overall production.

The quantities of steel manufactured by the five major steel producing countries in 2011 are summarized
in the following figure:

Russia: 68.7 mmt

India: 72.2 mmt

United States: 86.2 mmt

Japan: 107.6 mmt

China: 695.5 mmt

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Quantity of steel manufactured
(mmt: million metric tonnes)

(Source: The World Steel Association and South China Morning Post dated 27th April, 2010)

Although the steel industry has been one of the major profit-making
industries in Mainland China, the shortage of raw materials limits its growth.
Mainland China is facing a severe shortage of iron ores because of the
rapidly increasing demand for steel. Economists warn that this will lead to a
higher price of steel and probably force some steel mills to stop production.

A large amount of steel is required

for constructions in Mainland China.

Ways of conserving metals

Three common ways to conserve metals are:
1. Reusing metal articles
2. Reducing the use of metals
3. Recycling used metals
They are collectively known as the 3‘R’s of conservation.

10 18 conserving 保護
recycling 循環再造
reducing 減少
reusing 再用
million metric tonnes (mmt) 百萬公噸
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Reusing metal articles

Many metal articles can be reused. For example, metal containers can be
reused as a pen holder or storage box (Figure 10.12). Used barbecue
forks can be cleaned and then reused.

Reducing the use of metals

Figure 10.12 A metal We should reduce the use of metals whenever possible. For example, we
container is reused as a pen 0.2 pt
can buy products with less packaging of metals (Figure 10.13).
holder.

Recycling used metals

Recycling metals means melting down used metals and using them
again. At present, metals such as aluminium, lead, iron, copper, tin, zinc,
silver and gold are widely recycled.

For example, we can recycle aluminium from used soft drink cans
Figure 10.13 We can buy (Figure 10.14).
mooncakes with less metal
packaging in order to
reduce unnecessary use of
metals.

1 Used aluminium cans

are collected.

2 Collected aluminium cans are

5 Aluminium ingots can be used Recycling of
separated from other wastes. They
to make new aluminium cans. are then crushed into blocks.
aluminium cans

Think about
Steel cans are usually
found together with
aluminium cans in the
collection process.
How can we separate
them from aluminium
cans?

3 Aluminium cans are first

Figure 10.14 Stages
4 Molten aluminium is purified and shredded into small pieces
involved in the recycling and then melted in furnace.
moulded into aluminium ingots.
of aluminium cans.
Think about
Steel cans can be separated from aluminium cans by using magnets. aluminium ingot 鋁塊
shred 切割
19 10
 III Metals
AL2007(II)4(a)(iii)
Note 17
The cost of purifying aluminium is
low because aluminium objects do
not contain many impurities.
Note 18
Mining would produce a lot of
harmful chemicals, rocks, mud,
dust and noise at the same time.
The extraction of metals also
produces pollutants. For example,
extracting copper from copper
pyrites (mainly CuFeS2) releases
sulphur dioxide. Besides, mining
leaves very large holes on the
ground, which is unsightly and
wasteful of land.
PowerPoint
A10.5
(a) This is because aluminium has low
density, non-toxic, very malleable
and corrosion resistant.
(b) Recycling metals means melting
down used metals and using them
again.
(c) Any TWO of the following:
• It saves metal resources.
• It saves energy and other
resources such as electricity,
water and fuels.
• It reduces metal waste and
land used for waste disposal.
• It reduces pollution arising
from the mining and extraction
of metals.
10 20
Importance of recycling
Recycling metals is important for a number of reasons:
1. Recycling saves metal resources. For example, recycling one tonne of
aluminium saves four tonnes of bauxite.
2. Recycling saves energy and other resources such as electricity,
water and fuels. For example, the amount of energy required for
recycling aluminium is just 5% of that required for extracting
aluminium from bauxite.
3. Recycling metals can reduce metal waste and land used for waste
disposal.
4. Recycling helps to reduce pollution. Recycling reduces the need to
mine metal ores. This can minimize air pollution and water pollution
arising from the mining and extraction of metals.
5. Recycling activities promote public awareness of conserving metals.
Problems of recycling
1. Most of the rubbish dumped consists of different materials. It is
difficult and time consuming to sort out the metal waste from
other materials.
2. The cost of collecting, sorting and transporting the metal waste is
high in Hong Kong.
N17,
3. The cost of melting and purifying the metals is high in Hong Kong. N18
4. People need to change their habits from simply throwing away used
metal objects to putting them into proper recycling bins.
Activity 10.2
Metal-recycling industry of Hong Kong
Search the Internet (or other sources) about the metal-recycling industry of
Hong Kong.
Class practice 10.5
Aluminium is commonly used to make soft drink cans. Used aluminium cans
are usually collected for recycling.
(a) Explain why aluminium is usually used to make soft drink cans.
(b) What is meant by ‘recycling metals’?
(c) Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. However, it is
still important to recycle aluminium. Give TWO reasons why aluminium is
recycled.
public awareness 公眾意識
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

STSE connections 10.3

PowerPoint
Promotion of conservation of metal resources
In 2010, 176 tonnes of metal waste were generated in Hong Kong every day (See the table below). Most of the
metal waste thrown away was actually recyclable.

Domestic waste Commercial and industrial waste

Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011

Ferrous metals* 88 69 77 102 70 62 57 41

Aluminium cans 25 16 17 15 7 5 5 8

Other non-
19 10 9 12 9 7 11 4
ferrous metals**

* Ferrous metals include iron, steel, tin-plated iron, pig or cast iron
** Non-ferrous metals include aluminium, copper alloy, lead, metal ash and residues, nickel, precious metals, tin
and zinc

Quantities of metal waste in Hong Kong (tonnes per day) from 2008 to 2011.

(Source: ‘Monitoring of solid waste in Hong Kong’ by the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong, 2011)

To arouse concern for environmental protection and promote the conservation of metal resources, the
HKSAR government and some non-government organizations have implemented schemes to encourage
active participation by the general public. For example, special collection bins are provided for people to
dispose of recyclable plastics, paper, and aluminium cans. Posters and television advertisements are used
to educate the general public.

Collection bins for aluminium cans and other wastes A poster on waste separation and recycling
STSE connections 10.3
1. Ferrous metals
2. Special collection bins are provided for people to dispose of recyclable aluminium cans. Posters and
Questions for discussion:
television advertisements are used to educate the general public.
1. Which type of metal waste contributes to the largest portion of metal waste in Hong Kong in 2011?
2. What did the government do to promote the conservation of metal resources in Hong Kong?
3. What is the difficulty encountered in promoting the conservation of metal resources?
3. It is not easy for the general public to change their habits from simply throwing away used metal
objects to putting them into proper recycling bins.

ferrous metal 含鐵的金屬 cast iron 鑄鐵

pig iron 生鐵
21 10
 III Metals

Key terms
PowerPoint

English term Chinese translation Page

1. carbon reduction 碳還原作用 9

2. conserving 保護 18

3. electrolysis 電解 11

4. extraction 提取 8

5. metal ore 金屬礦石 7

6. reusing 再用 18

7. reducing 減少 18

8. recycling 循環再造 18

10 22
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Progress check
PowerPoint

Can you answer the following questions? Put a ‘✓’ in the box if you can. Otherwise, review the relevant
part on the page as shown.

Page
1. What are the uses of some common metals and their properties related to the uses? 4–5

2. In what forms do metals occur in nature? 7

3. What are the examples of common metal ores? 7

4. What are the extraction methods of metals from their ores? 8

5. How can we carry out the extraction methods to obtain metals? 8–11

6. How can we write word equations for the extraction of metals? 8–11

7. How does the order of discovery of metals relate to the ease of extraction of metals? 13

8. What are the factors affecting the availability of metals? 17

9. Why should we conserve metals? 17

10. What are the possible ways of conserving metals? 18–19

11. Why is recycling of metals important to us? 20

23 10
 III Metals

Summary
PowerPoint

10.1 Uses and properties of metals

1. Metals are very useful to us and they are used in many different ways in daily life.

2. The uses of metals are closely related to their properties. (Refer to Table 10.1 on p.4–5)

10.2 Occurrence of metals in nature

3. Only a few metals (e.g. silver and gold) can be found in free state in nature. Most metals exist as
compounds in ores.

10.3 Extraction of metals from their ores

4. Metals can be obtained from ores by extraction.

5. Metals can be extracted from their ores by

(a) heating the metal ore alone
(b) heating the metal ore with carbon (carbon reduction)
(c) electrolysis of the molten ore

10.4 Discovery of metals

6. Different metals were discovered at different times in human history. In general, the more easily
a metal can be extracted, the earlier it was discovered in history.

7. Factors affecting the availability of a metal include

(a) abundance of the metal in the Earth’s crust
(b) ease and cost of mining the ore
(c) ease and cost of extracting the metal from its ore

10.5 Conserving metals

8. Metal resources are limited and non-renewable. There is a need for conservation.

9. Three common ways to conserve metals are:

(a) Reusing metal articles
(b) Reducing the use of metals
(c) Recycling used metals

10. Recycling metals means melting down used metals and using them again.

10 24
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Concept map
PowerPoint

Complete the following concept map.

Reuse Reduce Recycle

Conservation

METALS

Occurrence Extraction methods

exist as

Compounds Physical Heating the Heating the Electrolysis

(e.g. bauxite) or method metal ore alone metal ore
elements (e.g. gold) with carbon

discovery
of metals example example example example
affected by

Ease of Gold Silver Iron Aluminium

extraction

of metals
is used is used is used is used
to make to make to make to make

Jewellery Jewellery Construction Soft drink

materials cans

(Hint: aluminium, carbon, compounds, construction, electrolysis, extraction, jewellery, recycle, silver)

25 10
 III Metals

Chapter exercise
Fill in the blanks A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
Section 10.2 C. (2) and (3) only
1. Very few metals are found in nature in free state. D
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Most metals are obtained from metal
compounds 8. Which of the following combinations about the
.
use of metals is correct?
Section 10.3 Metal Use
2. Metals can be extracted from their ores by: A. Silver Thermometers
Heating
(a) the metal ore alone. B. Titanium Overhead power cables
(b) Heating the metal ore with carbon
. C. Copper Electric wires
C
Electrolysis D. Iron Aircraft bodies
(c) of the molten ore. 8. Mercury is used to make thermometers.
Section 10.2 Aluminium is used to make overhead power
Section 10.4 cables and aircraft bodies.
9. Which of the following metals can be found as
3. The order of discovery of metals is related to the
extraction free element in nature?
ease of of metals.
(1) Gold
9. The main ore of mercury is cinnabar,
4. The availability of a metal depends mainly on: (2) Mercury which mainly consists of mercury(II)
Abundance
(a) of the metal in the Earth’s (3) Copper sulphide. Copper pyrite is the main ore
crust of copper. It mainly consists of copper
A. (1) only
iron sulphide.
mining
(b) Ease and cost of the ore B. (2) only
(c) Ease and cost of extracting the metal from its C. (1) and (3) only
A
ore D. (2) and (3) only

Section 10.5 Section 10.3

5. Metal ores in the Earth’s crust are limited in 10. Which of the following methods can be used to
amount and non-renewable
. There extract iron from iron(III) oxide?
conserving
is a need for metals. A. Heating iron(III) oxide in the absence of air
B. Heating iron(III) oxide in the presence of air
6. Three common ways to conserve metals are:
C. Heating iron(III) oxide with carbon at a high
Reusing
(a) metal articles. temperature.
Reducing
(b) the use of metals. D. Heating iron(III) oxide with carbon dioxide at
(c) Recycling
used metals. a high temperature. C
10. Refer to p.10 of chapter 10 for details.
11. In which of the following processes can the metal
Multiple-choice questions be extracted?
(1) Heating mercury(II) oxide alone
Section 10.1
(2) Heating silver oxide alone
7. Which of the following statements about
(3) Heating a mixture of zinc oxide and carbon
aluminium are correct?
powder
(1) It is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s
A. (1) and (2) only
crust.
B. (1) and (3) only
(2) It is corrosion resistant.
C. (2) and (3) only 11. Refer to p.8 to 9 of
(3) It is commonly used to make window frames. D
D. (1), (2) and (3) chapter 10 for details.

10 26
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

12. Which of the following metals is/are extracted by Section 10.5

electrolysis? 13. Which of the following statements are the
(1) Lead problems usually encountered in metal recycling?
(2) Calcium (1) The cost of collecting metal waste is high.
(3) Sodium 12. Reactive metals such as (2) The cost of melting and purifying metals is
aluminium, calcium, sodium,
A. (1) only high.
etc. can be extracted from
B. (2) only the molten ores by (3) It is difficult and time consuming to sort out
C. (1) and (3) only electrolysis. the metal waste from other materials.
D
D. (2) and (3) only A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only 13. Refer to p.20 of chapter
10 for details. D
D. (1), (2) and (3)

14. (a) This is because aluminium has a low density/is a good conductor of electricity/ductile. (Any TWO)
(b) This is because aluminium has delocalized electrons in the structure to conduct electricity.
Structured questions (c) This is because copper has a higher density than aluminium. The overhead power cables made of
copper may be quite heavy.
Section 10.1 (d) This is because silver is much more expensive than aluminium.
14. Aluminium is used to make overhead power cables.
(a) Give TWO reasons why aluminium is used to make overhead power cables.
(b) Explain why aluminium can conduct electricity.
(c) Copper is used to make electric wires. However, it is not used to make overhead
power cables. Give a reason.
(d) Silver is a better electrical conductor than copper. However, it is not used to make
electric wires. Give a reason.

Section 10.2
15. The table below shows some information about four metals.

Abundance in the Corrosion

Metal Strength Relative price
Earth’s crust (%) resistance

Aluminium 8.1 Medium High Medium

Copper 0.0055 Medium Medium Medium

Gold 0.0000004 Medium High Very expensive

Iron 5.0 High Low Cheap

(a) Choose ONE metal which is the most suitable for each of the following purposes. Explain your choice
in each case. 15. (a) (i) Aluminium. This is because aluminium is corrosion resistant, strong, and has a low density (hence
convenient to carry).
(i) Making camera stands (ii) Iron. This is because iron is strong, cheap, malleable and ductile.
(ii) Making ship bodies (iii) Gold. This is because gold is extremely corrosion resistant, malleable and ductile.
(b) This is because gold exists as free element in nature and can be extracted easily by physical method.
(iii) Making necklaces for memorial purposes
(b) Although gold has a very low abundance in the Earth’s crust, it was the earliest metal discovered by
humans. Explain why. (c) This is because iron is much more abundant than copper in the Earth’s crust.
(c) Suggest ONE possible reason why iron is cheaper than copper.

27 10
29
 III Metals

Section 10.3
16. A mixture of lead(II) oxide and carbon powder was strongly heated in a test tube as shown below. Grey beads
formed in the test tube and gas bubbles evolved which turned limewater milky.

a mixture of lead(II) oxide

16. (a) Lead metal
and carbon powder
(b) Carbon dioxide
heat
(c) lead(II) oxide + carbon lead + carbon dioxide heat
(d) (i) Yes heat
copper(II) oxide + carbon copper + carbon dioxide
(ii) No
This is because magnesium is a reactive metal. limewater

(a) What are the grey beads formed?

(b) What is the gas evolved in the reaction?
(c) Write a word equation for the reaction between lead(II) oxide and carbon.
(d) Would there be any reaction if lead(II) oxide was replaced by
(i) copper(II) oxide?
(ii) magnesium oxide?
Write a word equation for any reaction involved. Explain briefly if there would be no reaction.

17. (a) The following diagram shows how aluminium is extracted from its ore bauxite. (Answers on p.10-29.)

graphite (positive
graphite
electrode)
(negative
electrode)

a molten mixture of aluminium

ore (bauxite) and cryolite
molten aluminium

tapping hole
steel cell

(i) Name the extraction method shown in the above diagram.

(ii) Write a word equation for the extraction of aluminium using the above method.
(iii) Apart from aluminium, suggest ONE metal that can be extracted by using the same method.
(b) The extraction methods of mercury and zinc are summarized in the following table.

Metal ore Extraction method

Cinnabar
Heat the metal ore alone
(consists of mercury(II) sulphide)

Zinc blende
Heat the metal ore in air and then with carbon
(consists of zinc sulphide)

(i) Write the word equation(s) for the reaction(s) involved in the extraction of mercury and zinc
respectively.
(ii) Arrange aluminium, mercury and zinc in order of increasing ease of extraction.
(iii) Deduce the order of discovery of aluminium, mercury and zinc. (Write the metal that was discovered
the earliest.)
10 28
 10 Occurrence and extraction of metals

Section 10.5
18. Mooncakes are usually packed in tin containers.
(a) Suggest ONE property of tin that makes it suitable for making
mooncake containers.
(b) Where do you think the containers will be disposed of after we throw
them away?
(c) State ONE economic importance and ONE environmental importance
of recycling metals.
(d) According to the 3‘R’s of conservation, suggest TWO methods to treat
these mooncake containers in order to conserve tin metal.

17. (a) (i) Electrolysis of molten ore

electricity
(ii) aluminium oxide aluminium + oxygen
(iii) Potassium/sodium/calcium/magnesium (Any ONE)
(b) (i) Word equation for the extraction of mercury from cinnabar:
heat
mercury(II) sulphide + oxygen mercury + sulphur dioxide
Word equation for the extraction of zinc from zinc blende:
heat
Step 1: zinc sulphide + oxygen zinc oxide + sulphur dioxide
heat
Step 2: zinc oxide + carbon zinc + carbon dioxide
(ii) Aluminium, zinc, mercury
(iii) Mercury, zinc, aluminium

18. (a) Tin is malleable/corrosion resistant/non-toxic. (Any ONE)

(b) They will be disposed of in the landfill site.
(c) Economic importance of recycling metals:
It saves energy and other resources such as electricity, water and fuels.
Environmental importance of recycling metals (Any ONE):
• It saves metal resources.
• It reduces metal waste and land used for waste disposal.
• It reduces pollution arising from the mining and extraction of metals.
(d) Reuse these mooncake containers to store things.
Recycle these mooncake containers by putting them into metal recycling bins.

29 10
29
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