Metals

Properties, Uses, Reactivity, Corrosion

 Keywords:
1. Metals 11. Electrostatic attraction 21. Sacrificial protection
2. Non-metals 12. Delocalised electrons 22. Galvanisation
3. Metalloids 13. Metal oxide
4. Thermal conductivity 23. Thermite reaction
14. Metal hydroxide
5. Electrical conductivity 24. Corrosion
6. Malleability 15. Acid

7. Ductility 16. Salt 25. Displacement reaction

8. Melting point 17. Reactive/Unreactive 26. Ions
9. Boiling point 18. Lattice structure
10. Alloys 27.
19. Vigorously/violently
20. Rusting/ Oxidation
Physical properties of metals & non-metals

● The Periodic Table contains over 100 different elements

● They can be divided into two broad types:
○ Metals
○ Non-metals
● Most of the elements are metals and a small number of elements display properties of
both types
○ These elements are called metalloids or semimetals
The metallic character diminishes moving left to right across the Periodic Table
Properties of metals
Physical properties of ALKALI METALS.mp4

● Conduct heat and electricity

○ This is because metals have delocalised electrons that are able to move through
the metal structure
● Are malleable (can be hammered and made into different shapes) and ductile (can be
drawn into wires)
○ This is because the layers of positive metal ions, in the metal structure, are able to
slide over each other
● Usually have high melting and boiling points
○ This is because there is a strong electrostatic attraction between the positive metal
ions and delocalised electrons (metallic bonding)
○ This strong attraction / bond requires lots of energy to break
Properties of non-metals

● Do not conduct heat and electricity

○ This is because all of the electrons are involved in covalent bonding
○ One exception to this is graphite
● Are brittle when solid and easily break up
○ They are not malleable or ductile
○ One exception to this is graphite
● Low melting and boiling points
○ Many non-metals are gases at room temperature
○ This is because they have weak forces between molecules
○ These weak intermolecular forces do not require a lot of energy to overcome
○ Exceptions to this include diamond and silicon(IV) dioxide
 Chemical properties of metals
The chemistry of metals is studied by analysing their reactions with water, dilute acid and oxygen. Based on
these reactions, a reactivity series of metals can be produced

Reactions of metals with water

● Some metals react with water, either warm or cold, or with steam
● Metals that react with cold water form a metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas
metal + water → metal hydroxide + hydrogen
● For example, calcium:
Ca (s) + 2H2O (l) → Ca(OH)2 (aq) + H2 (g)
● Metals that react with steam form a metal oxide and hydrogen gas
metal + water → metal oxide + hydrogen
● For example, zinc:
Zn (s) + H2O (g) → ZnO (s) + H2 (g)
Reactions of metals with 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:

Fe (s) + 2HCl (aq) → FeCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Reactions of metals with oxygen

● Unreactive metals, such as gold and platinum, do not react with oxygen
● Some reactive metals, such as the alkali metals, react easily with oxygen
● Copper and iron can also react with oxygen, although much more slowly
● When metals react with oxygen a metal oxide is formed

metal + oxygen → metal oxide

● For example, copper:

2Cu (s) + O2 (g) → 2CuO (s)

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
What is copper used for?
● Copper sits below hydrogen in the reactivity
series, which means it is an unreactive metal
● The uses of copper relate to its properties
● For example, it is an excellent electrical conductor
and ductile so is used in wiring
Properties & uses of alloys
An alloy is a mixture of a metal with other elements

○ Most alloys contain more than one metal

○ Some alloys contain non-metals
● Two examples of alloys are:
○ Brass - an alloy of copper and zinc and is much stronger than either metal
i. It is used in musical instruments, ornaments and door knobs
○ Stainless steel - an alloy of iron and other elements, for example, chromium, nickel and carbon
i. It is used in cutlery because of its hardness and resistance to corrosion / rusting
● Other alloys include:
○ Iron with tungsten - extremely hard and resistant to high temperatures
○ Iron with chromium / nickel - resistant to corrosion
○ Aluminium with copper, manganese and silicon - the alloy is stronger but still has a low density, which makes it
ideal for aircraft body production
● Alloys often have properties that are different to the metals they contain
○ For example, they can be:
i. Stronger
ii. Harder
iii. Resistant to corrosion / extreme temperatures
○ These enhanced properties can make alloys more useful than pure metals
The structure of an alloy
● Alloys have a different structure to metals
○ Metals have a regular arrangement of ions
○ Alloys have an irregular arrangement of atoms

The regular arrangement of a metal lattice structure is distorted in alloys

Explaining the properties of alloys

Metals and Alloys-GCSE Chemistry.mp4

● Alloys typically contain atoms of different sizes

● This distorts the normally regular arrangements of atoms in metals
○ The regular arrangement in a metal is layers of positive ions in a sea of delocalised
electrons
● The distortion makes it more difficult for the layers to slide over each other
● So, alloys are usually harder / stronger than pure metals
Reactivity series
What is the reactivity series of metals?
● The chemistry of the metals is studied by analysing their reactions with water and acids
● Based on these reactions a reactivity series of metals can be produced
● The series can be used to place a group of metals in order of reactivity based on the
observations of their reactions with water and acids
● The non-metals hydrogen and carbon are also included in the reactivity series as they
are used to extract metals from their oxides
Reaction with Water- Reaction of alkali metals with water
Reaction of metals with cold water
● The more reactive metals will react with cold water to form a metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas
● Potassium, sodium and calcium all undergo reactions with cold water as they are the most reactive
metals:

metal + water → metal hydroxide + hydrogen

● For example, calcium and potassium:

Ca (s) + 2H2O (l) → Ca(OH)2 (aq) + H2 (g)

2K (s) + 2H2O (l) → 2KOH (aq) + H2 (g)

Reactions of metals with steam

● Metals just below calcium in the reactivity series do not react with cold water but will react with
steam to form a metal oxide and hydrogen gas, for example, magnesium:

Mg (s) + H2O (g) → MgO (s) + H2 (g)

Reaction with dilute acids
● Only metals above hydrogen in the reactivity series will react with dilute acids
● Unreactive metals below hydrogen, such as gold, silver and copper, do not react with acids
● The more reactive the metal then the more vigorous the reaction will be
● Metals that are placed high on the reactivity series such as potassium and sodium are very dangerous and
react explosively with acids
● When acids react with metals they form a salt and hydrogen gas:
● The general equation is:

metal + acid ⟶ salt + hydrogen

Reaction with oxygen

● Some reactive metals, such as the alkali metals, react easily with oxygen
● Silver, copper and iron can also react with oxygen although much more slowly
● When metals react with oxygen a metal oxide is formed, for example, copper:

metal + oxygen → metal oxide

2Cu (s) + O2 (g) → 2CuO (s)

● Gold does not react with oxygen

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
Sacrificial protection
Describe the process of galvanisation as an example for
barrier method and sacrificial protection.
Explaining reactivity- GCSE Chemistry - Reactivity Series of Metals & Displacement Reactions #37

● 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

Displacement reactions between metals and aqueous solutions of metal salts

● Any metal will displace another metal that is below it in the reactivity series from a solution of one of
its salts
● This is because more reactive metals lose electrons and form ions more readily than less reactive
metals, making them better reducing agents
● The less reactive metal is a better electron acceptor than the more reactive metal, thus the less
reactive metal is reduced
○ OILRIG: reduction is gain of electrons
Magnesium + copper sulfate
● Magnesium is a reactive metal and can displace copper from a copper sulfate solution
● Magnesium loses its electrons more easily and the ion of the less reactive metal, copper, will gain these electrons to
form elemental copper
● This is easily seen as the more reactive metal slowly disappears from the solution, displacing the less reactive metal

magnesium + copper sulfate → magnesium sulfate + copper

Mg (s) + CuSO4 (aq) → MgSO4 (aq) + Cu (s)

● The blue colour of the CuSO4 solution fades as colourless magnesium sulfate solution is formed
● Copper coats the surface of the magnesium and also forms solid metal which falls to the bottom of the beaker
 ● From this table we can deduce the order of reactivity:
○ Magnesium and zinc are both more reactive than iron but magnesium is more reactive than zinc
○ Copper and silver are both less reactive than iron but silver is less reactive than copper
● The order of reactivity of the metals tested can be therefore be deduced as:
○ Mg > Zn > Fe > Cu > Ag

Reactivity of aluminium
● Aluminium is high in the reactivity series, but in reality, it does not react with water and the reaction with dilute acids
can be quite slow
● This is because it reacts readily with oxygen, forming a protective layer of aluminium oxide which is very thin
● This layer prevents reaction with water and dilute acids, so aluminium can behave as if it is unreactive
Transition metals and their properties.mp4
Coming soon…….
EXTRACTION OF METALS