By: Mohammed Shooshtarian

What I will be talking about:  I will be talking about the relationship between the reactivity of a metal and when it was discovered, what the order of the most reactive to the least reactive metals are. Questions:  Is their a relationship between the reactivity of a metal and when it was discovered?  What are the order of the most reactive to the least reactive metals?  When were the Metals discovered and what were their uses.

 Today we know that the majority of elements in the periodic table are metals, 86 out of the 112 elements are metals (reactive and non- reactive)  The first metals to be discovered were gold, copper and silver

 Platinum  GoldAluminum  SilverMagnesium  Copper Calcium Sodium  LeadPotassium  Iron  Zinc

The more reactive the metals are the harder it is to extract, the less reactive the easier it is to extract. Least reactive metals were found before most reactive metals.

 Potassium  Sodium  Calcium  Magnesium  Aluminum  Zinc  Iron  Lead  Copper  Silver  Gold These metals were extracted from their ores until the 19 th century (the century of the invention of electricity) These metals were extracted from their ores 2000 years ago, although Iron and Lead were discovered earlier than zinc, they were discovered just after Gold, Copper and Silver These metals were extracted from their ores first, because they are not reactive at all, especially gold and silver, you can find them lying on the floor. Although they are extremely rare.

 Metals that are very reactive are hard to extract from their ores. Such as potassium and magnesium are hard to extract from their ores because they need special process. Metals that are not reactive are easier to extract from their ores, such as Gold, Iron, Silver, Copper and Lead, Gold and Silver can be found on the ground or in rivers, although it is really rare to be found.

 (1) Gold (Au) Known to the ancients  (2) Silver (Ag) Known to the ancients  (3) Copper (Cu) Known to the ancients  (4) Lead, (Pb) 3500BC  (5) Iron (Fe) 1500BC  (6) Zinc (Zn) 1746  (7) Aluminum (Al) 1825  (8) Magnesium (Mg) 1808  (9) Calcium (Ca) 1808  (10) Sodium (Na) 1807  (11) Potassium (K) 1807

 Gold (Au) : Uses electronics, jewelry, coins, Discovered by: Unknown  Silver (Ag): Uses jewelry, photography, electrical conductor, Discovered by: Unknown  Copper (Cu): Uses electrical conductor, jewelry, coins, plumbing, Discovered by: Unknown  Lead (Pb): Uses solder and shielding against radiation, batteries, Discovered by : Known to the ancients  Iron (Fe): Uses steel, hemoglobin (carries oxygen in blood), Discovered by: Known to the ancients  Zinc (Zn): Uses metal coating, rust protection, brass, bronze, nickel, Discovered by: Andreas Marggraf  Aluminum (Al): Uses airplanes, soda cans, Discovered by: Hans Christian Oersted  Magnesium (Mg): Uses airplanes, missiles, Discovered by: Sir Humphrey Davy  Calcium: (Ca): Uses life forms for bones and shells, Discovered by: Sir Humphrey Davy  Sodium (Na): Uses medicine, agriculture, Discovered by: Sir Humphrey Davy  Potassium (K): Uses glass, soap, Discovered by: Sir Humphrey Davy

 Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Aluminum and Sodium couldn't be cut of from their compounds because they need a much harder process of separation named Electrolysis. Meaning that these metals were discovered when electricity was invented which was in the 19 th century, as I have explained in the fourth slide.

 After reading my slide show you would know that, if a metal is really reactive it would become really hard to extract. Although over the years people figured out solutions that include using tools/items to make extracting a really reactive metal from its ore easy to do.

 "Chemical Elements.com - Gold (Au)." Chemical Elements.com - An Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements. Web. 13 Nov  “Rare Earth Metals May Trigger Trade Wars : Discovery News." Discovery News: Earth, Space, Tech, Animals, Dinosaurs, History. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov