Metals-Properties of Metals

Keywords: B
Malleability I can compare
Ductility chemical
C properties of
D I can describe chemical
metals.
I can properties of metals with
examples.
I’m here! explain
E physical
I can Identify
metals in the properties
periodic table. of metals.

(A-A*) –Predict the properties of an unknown

metals.

L.O:Compare and contrast physical and chemical properties of

metals and their extraction.
 Metals-starter activity
Do now: What properties of metals are
these pictures representing?
 What properties of metals are these
pictures representing?
Conduct
electricity
Ductile
Stron Malleable
(can be
g (can hammer
stretched
into wires) into shape) Lustro
us
Sonorous (shiny)
(make a
ringing sound
when hit)
High Conduct
Hard melting/ heat
boiling
points
Some solids conduct heat very
well

Metal conducts heat very well but cork

doesn’t - which is why the wax melts off of
the end where it’s attached to the wire, but
not off the end where it’s attached to the
cork
Metals are good heat conductors

When a metal is heated

the delocalised (free)
electrons gain kinetic
energy.
This means they move
faster and transfer
energy through the
metal.

Insulators do not have

delocalised electrons, so
HEAT cannot do this.
Metals are good conductors of
electricity
 Metals are malleable

• Metals are not brittle.

• The metal atoms are the same and

exist in simple structures.

• If something hits the substance, it

simply moves to the next layer along.

Hit
Hit

This makes them malleable (can be hammered into

shape).
 Metals Nonmetals
Metals are very hard except for sodium. Non metals are soft except for diamonds.

Metals are generally malleable and Non metals are generally brittle and can
ductile. break down into smaller pieces.

They are shiny and lustrous. They are not shiny and are non lustrous
except iodine.

They are electropositive in nature. They are electronegative in nature.

Metals are good conductors of heat and Non metals are generally bad conductors
electricity. of heat and electricity except graphite.

They are used in machinery. Example: They have medicinal and chemical uses.
Copper, silver, gold etc. Example: carbon, oxygen, sulphur etc.
Complete the worksheet
 Uses of metals
What is aluminium used for? Aluminium sits above
hydrogen in the reactivity series, which means that is a
reactive metal Aluminium quickly reacts with oxygen
to form a protective layer of aluminium oxide, which is
why aluminium appears to be unreactive.
 Alloys

Do now:
Explain (without looking back) how and
why rusting reduces the integrity of
iron.
List the properties of metals and what
they mean.
 Alloys
An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements, where at least
one element is a metal. Many alloys are mixtures of two or
more metals.

In an alloy, there are atoms of different sizes. This means

that a greater force is required for the layers to slide over each
other, so the alloy is harder and stronger than the pure
metal.
 Pure metals
Pure metals tend to be soft and are easily shaped. This
is due to their lattice structure and regular
arrangement of particles. The layers are able to slide
over each other.
 Alloys
Making mixtures of metals, called alloys, produces more
useful materials. The different sized atoms make it
harder for the layers to slip, so the metals are HARDER
and STRONGER.

Alloy - A mixture of two or more elements, where

at least one of them is a metal.
 Copper alloys
Bronze was the first metal made by humans about 5500
years ago. It is usually made by mixing copper with tin. It is
tough and resistant to corrosion.

What types of items might we make out of bronze and why?

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It is harder than

copper, but still workable. It is used for musical instruments,
door fittings and taps.
 Aluminium alloys
Aluminium has a low density for a metal. There are over 300
alloys of aluminium. These are often lightweight and strong
and so used for items like aircraft and armour plating.
 Steel
Iron is alloyed with other metals to produce a range of alloy
steels. Steels have different properties, depending on
their composition. For example:

• mild steel is useful for making car body parts because it is

easily pressed into shape.
• tool steel is useful for making drill bits because it is hard
and not easily damaged by the heating caused by friction
during drilling.
 Why might we make gold alloys?

The other metal makes the gold cheaper, harder and

the gold is unreactive so won’t corrode.
 Gold alloys
Pure gold is soft and wears easily. It can be made harder
with other metals. It is usually alloyed with copper for
jewellery. By varying the proportions we can also get different
shades of gold.

The purity of gold is expressed in carats. 24 carat gold is

almost pure gold (99.9%), so if you divide the carat by 24 you
will get the purity of the metal.
Exam question
Mark your work
Exam question
Mark your work
Complete the worksheet
 The Reactivity Series
Do now:
1) List 5 uses of metals in our lives.

2) In what form are metals found?

3) Any ideas how to obtain pure metals?

 Reactivity of Metals

Think back to all of the reactions that you have learnt

about so far.

1) List the group 1 (alkali) metals in order of reactivity.

2) What is your EVIDENCE for this?
 Reactivity of Metals

lithium < sodium < potassium < rubidium < caesium <
francium
grou vigorous
p ________ the metals react more
As you go down the ly
____________ with water.

Now can you put these metals in order of

reactivity? Calcium
calcium beryllium magnesium(most)
Hint: they are all in the same group!!! Magnesium
Beryllium
 Reactivity of Metals
1)List the following metals in order of
Coppe Iro Aluminiu
reactivity. Magnesiu
r n m m
Zin Lead
2)What is your EVIDENCE forcthis?
Reacts most vigorously
with acid
Magnesiu
m
Aluminiu
m
Zinc
Reacts least vigorously
with acid
Iron
Lead
Reactions with water
React with water
to form hydroxide
and H2.

K
React with water
Na to form an oxide
Ca and H2.
Mg
Re

Al
ac

Zn
tiv
ity

Fe
in

Sn Do not react
cr

with water.
ea

Pb
se

Cu
s

Ag
Au
Reactions with steam
Explode with
steam
React with
K steam to form
metal oxide
Na
and H2 (same
Ca as H2O(l)).
Mg
Re

Al Very little
ac

Zn reaction with
tiv

steam.
ity

Fe
in

Sn
cr
ea

Pb Do not react
se

Cu with steam.
s

Ag
Au
 acids
Most metals react with acids, such as HCl. When acids
and metals react, the hydrogen atom in the acid is
replaced by the metal atom to produce a salt and
hydrogen gas metal + acid → salt +
hydrogen
For example, iron:

H2SO4 = sulfate.
HCl = chloride.
HNO3 = nitrate.
 With acid

K
Na Reacts with Where
dilute acid. hydrogen fits
Ca in the
Mg reactivity
Re

Al series.
ac

Zn
tiv
ity

Fe
in

Sn
cr

Do not react
ea

Potassium is the Pb with dilute

se

most reactive and Cu acid.

s

platinum is the
Ag
least reactive.
Au
 Copy and complete the blanks
1. Magnesium + Hydrochloric acid → Magnesium chloride +
_________________
Hydrogen

Aluminium
2. ____________ + Nitric acid → Aluminium nitrate + Hydrogen
Hydrogen
3. Calcium + Hydrochloric acid → Calcium chloride + ___________
Zinc sulfate
4. Zinc + Sulfuric acid → _____________ + Hydrogen
 Write the balanced chemical
formula
1. Magnesium + Nitric acid → Magnesium nitrate + Hydrogen
Mg + 2HNO3 → Mg(NO3)2 +
H2
2. Calcium + Hydrochloric acid → Calcium chloride + Hydrogen
Ca + 2HCl → CaCl2 + H2

3. Iron + Hydrochloric acid → Iron (II) chloride + Hydrogen

Fe + 2HCl→ FeCl2+ H2

4. Aluminium + Sulphuric acid → Aluminium sulphate + Hydrogen

2Al + 3H2SO4 → Al2(SO4)3+
3H2
Metal + oxygen → metal
oxide

Magnesium + oxygen → magnesium

oxide

2Mg(s) + O2 (g) → 2MgO (s)

 Reactions with oxygen (air)

K
Na
Burn to form
Ca oxides
Mg Forms outer
Re

Al oxide layer, no
ac

Zn burning
tiv
ity

Fe
in

Whether a metal Sn
cr
ea

reacts with a Pb
Do not
se

substance or not Cu
s

react with
depends upon its Ag oxygen
position in the Au
reactivity series.
 Reacting Metals With Oxygen

Only the more reactive metals will burn in air to form the oxide.
Which equations are correct for metals burning in air?

1. Potassium + Oxygen → Potassium oxide✓

2. Magnesium + Oxygen → No reaction x
3. Gold + Oxygen → Gold oxide x
4. Silver + Oxygen → Silver dioxidex
5. Zinc + oxygen → Zinc oxide✓

✓
6. Aluminium + oxygen → Aluminium oxide
7. Gold + oxygen → No reaction ✓
These are called OXIDATION reactions (adding oxygen). If we
were removing oxygen this would be called REDUCTION.
 Deducing the order of
reactivity
• The order of reactivity of metals can be deduced by making
experimental observations of reactions between metals and
water, acids and oxygen
• The more vigorous the reaction of the metal, the higher up the
reactivity series the metal is
• A combination of reactions may be needed, for example, the
order of reactivity of the more reactive metals can be
determined by their reactions with water The less reactive
metals react slowly or not at all with water, so the order of
reactivity would need to be determined by observing their
reactions with dilute acid
• Temperature change in a reaction can also be used to determine
the order of reactivity The greater the temperature change in a
reaction involving a metal, the more reactive the metal is
 Explaining reactivity
• Metal atoms form positive ions by loss of electrons when they react
with other substances
• The tendency of a metal to lose electrons is a measure of how
reactive the metal is
• A metal that is high up on the series loses electrons easily and is thus
more reactive than one which is lower down on the series

More reactive metal Compound

Least reactive metal

Who will the compound

choose?!
 Displacement reactions
If a more reactive metal is placed into one of these metal
solutions it will react and displace the other metal.
For example the reaction between copper sulphate and
magnesium.
 Which metals will be
displaced?
Copy out the table below ready to complete the
practical
metal magnesiu zinc iron copper
sulphate
solution m sulphate sulphate sulphate
met sulphate
al
magnesium
zinc
iron
copper

✓ = displacement
reaction
✗= no
reaction
 Displacement Results
metal sulphate magnesium zinc iron copper
solution
sulphate sulphate sulphate sulphate
meta
lmagnesium
✓ ✓ ✓
zinc
✗ ✓ ✓
iron
✗ ✗ ✓
copper
✗ ✗ ✗
✓ = displacement reaction
✗= no reaction
 Answer these in your books
1. Explain the following facts in terms of chemical
reactivity.

a) Gold, silver and platinum are used to make

jewellery.
b) Potassium, lithium and sodium are stored in jars of
oil.
c) Food cans are plated with tin, but not with zinc.

2. Explain why aluminium can be used outdoors, for

example, for window frames, even though it is quite high
in the reactivity series.
 Mark your work
a) These metals placed are found at the bottom of
the reactivity series. Hence, they are very
unreactive. Gold and platinum are even known as
noble metals. They are not affected by air, water
and even by chemicals. Since they have bright
lustre and resistant to reaction with air, water and
chemicals which makes them useful to make
b) All the three metals react with water producing
jewellery.
lot of heat. As a result, hydrogen evolved catches
fire. They cannot be kept in air also because air
contains moisture or water vapours. These are kept
under kerosene to avoid contact with both air and
water.
c) Zinc is more reactive than tin. Which may react
with food items and make it unhealthy for eating.
 Mark your work
2. Aluminium has a very thin layer of its oxide
(aluminium oxide) on its surface, which is
protective since it stops air and water getting to
the metal, so aluminium resists corrosion.
Therefore, a car body made from aluminium will
corrode less than one made from steel. It should
last longer as a result
What are oxidation and
reduction?
Oxidation and reduction used
to refer to the addition or
removal of oxygen.

Now we use them to

describe the movement
of electrons.

If electrons move around

during a reaction, then
one species will be
oxidised while another is
reduced
Hence, RED-OX!!!
 Writing ionic (half)
equations
1. Write your balanced symbol equation.
Mg + ZnSO4 → MgSO4 + Zn
2. Split up the ions.
Mg0 + Zn2+ + SO42- → Mg2+ + SO42- + Zn0
3. Cross out any ions that don’t change
(spectator ions).
Mg0 + Zn2+ + SO42- → Mg2+ + SO42- + Zn0

Mg0 + Zn2+ → Mg2+ + Zn0

Magnesium is oxidised and zinc is reduced. Try
writing ionic equations for your reactions from today.