By: Lara Matic

Metal Discoveries What my task is, is to find the discovery dates of 6 metals, find out the person who discovered it, describe it and find the relationship it has with the reactivity series. The metals I’m going to do are: o Iron o Copper o Aluminum o Silver o Gold o Silicon

Periodic Table

Iron Discovery: No one knows who discovered iron because iron has been used in prehistory. Iron is a metal that has been used since ancient times. Lower-melting copper alloys were first used in history. Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe. It is the most common metal on Earth. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust. Iron is the second most common element after aluminum. Scientists prove that portions of the Earth have a large consist of iron. A method for taking out iron from the Earths core is to heat it up with limestone and coke. The coke reacts with iron oxide to produce iron and the limestone combines with impurities in the core to remove the furnace.

Iron Iron is a silvery white/grayish metal that is ductile and malleable. It is one of the three natural elements. Iron has a high tense, which means, it can be; hammered, rolled, bent, cut, shaped, formed and it some shapes or thicknesses. Iron does have a melting point, it is 1,536 〫 C.

Iron Uses Iron is used to manufacture steel. There are about 27 different types of steel and in each one of them iron is in it mixed with something else. In each steel it is mixed with something else. It is used for making many outdoor household things, like; - Wrought iron fencing - Arbors - Wrought iron trellies - Wrought iron patio furniture Cast iron is a main thing in kitchens. Cast iron is used to make cookware like pots and pans. The stove where the cooking happens is make by cast iron.

Iron – Reactivity Series Iron wouldn’t be very helpful at all. According to its chemical reactivity it take 0.44 volts, which isn’t very useful. Rust comes off from the surface of he iron exposing it to further corrosion.

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu. Copper is a ductile metal with high thermal electrical conductivity. Pure copper is a soft, malleable metal with pinkish and peachy color. Copper belongs in the same place of the periodic table as silver and gold. Copper is easily used like silver and gold, it is easily malleable and ductile. The way it can be put into a wire makes it easy to be used for electrical wiring and electricity.

Copper - Timeline Copper has been used at least 11,000 years. Some people think that the discovery of metal happened around 9000 BC in the Middle East. By 5000 BC there were signs of copper smelting. But people couldn’t exactly fine copper smelting they could only find signs of it. Copper smelting was discovered alone in several parts of the world. It was developed in China in 2800 BC. No one knows who discovered Copper because is was also used in the prehistoric times. They also don’t know when it was discovered, Archeologists think that it was discovered somewhere between 5000 BC and 1,200 BC.

Copper It has a redish, orangish and brownish color to it. Pure copper is either pink or peach colored. Copper is one of the three elements with a natural color. The similar electron structure in copper, gold and silver makes these three elements similar in many ways.

Copper Copper doesn’t react with water, but it slowly reacts with the atmospheres oxygen which then forms a layer of brown-black copper oxide. It reacts with hydrogen sulfide and sulfide containing solutions. In the sulfide containing solutions copper will corrode. This happens in every day life when the copper is exposed to air containing sulfur compounds. “Copper reacts with an acidified mixture of hydrogen peroxide to form the corresponding copper salt: Cu + 2 HCl + H 2 O 2 → CuCl H 2 O”

Aluminum Aluminum is a metal with a atomic number of 13. The symbol for Aluminum is Al. it is the most abundant metal. It is the third most abundant element in earths crust after oxygen and silicon. It is too reactive chemically to occur naturally in earth. It is found in a combination of 270 minerals. It is a silvery white metal with valuable properties. Pure aluminum is soft and ductile. It is used for airplanes and soda cans.

Aluminum Based on the chemical reactivity aluminum would not be very useful. Its normal reduction potential is 1.66 volts. It was discovered in 1825 by Hans Christian Oersted. In 1845 Friedrich Wöhler discovered many of the metals properties.

Aluminum Timeline  It was discovered in 1825 by Hans Christian Oersted.  In 1845 Friedrich Wöhler discovered many of the metals properties.  Sainte-Claire Deville developed a reduction process using sodium – 1854  In 1886 the smelting process was discovered in the United States and France. Two men discovered it ; Charles Martin Hall and Paul Louis Toussaint Heroult. Both of them dissolved aluminum oxide in molten cryolite and then extracted it.  In 1888 Karl Byer invented a better process for the smelting process that Charles Martin Hall and Paul Louis Toussaint Heroul discovered.

Silver Silver is another metal. Its atomic symbol is Ag. The atomic number is 47. silver has been known since ancient times, no one knows who discovered it and no one is exactly sure when it was discovered. In the Aegean Sea it indicates that man learned how to separate lead from silver in 3000 BC.

Description of Silver Pure silver has a bright metallic luster. It is ductile and malleable. It has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all the metals. It does not rust when it is exposed to water and oxygen, but it does rust when it is exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide or air that contains sulfur.

Uses of Silver Silver is used for jewelry silver wear etc. It is also used in dental alloys. It is used in making brazing alloys, electrical contacts and high capacity silver zinc and silver cadmium batteries. It is used in mirrors and anything that has to do with reflection. Silver fulminate is a powerful explosive, that contains silver. Silver can also be used as a cement for glass. It is used extensively in photography. Silver has been used all around the world for centuries.

Relationship With The Reactivity Series Silver is the third least reactive element in the reactivity series. I don’t think there is a big relationship between the reactivity series and silver, this is because it is almost all the way at the bottom of the reactivity series graph and there is no reaction with cold water or when it is heated with steam. No reaction with dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute sulphuric acid. These are some of the main things for the reactivity series and silver to have a relationship.

Gold Gold is in the middle of the periodic table. It is a heavy metal known as the transition metals. The symbol for Gold is Au, and the atomic number is 79. Gold had been discovered around 2600 BC. A special skill developed by the Ancient Egyptians was adding gold to glass objects. Writing and the usage of things show that Gold has been used in almost every civilization. The Roman Historians like Pliny the Elder has writing about the usage and mining of gold.

Properties of Gold Gold is both ductile and malleable. It is quite soft and it can usually be scratched of by a penny. Gold is not very reactive it does not combine with oxygen nor does it dissolve when mixed with acids. This could make some very important used for gold, gold coins would not corrode, neither would jewelry or art work that is made up of Gold.

Uses of Gold In 1986 experts proved that 121,000 tons had been mined through history, and that 18,000 tons of that were used for industrial and health care. Gold is created into big long bars and are kept in the bank. Gold is also used to make jewelry and coins.

Description of Gold Gold is a very bright element. It is bronze and shiny. It can also be used as a mirror but not made into a mirror because of how reflective it is. It stands out because of how it shines.

Relationship in Reactivity Series Gold is at the second bottom of the reactivity series. It is not reactive at all. Which means there can be no relationship between gold and the reactivity series as the gold does not react.

Sodium Sodium is a element with an atomic number as 11. Its symbol to represent it is Na. Compounds of sodium have been known throughout human history. Sodium was discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1807 AD. Because sodium has a high rectivity it is not found naturally in its element.

Sodium Uses and Appearance Sodium is used in the manufacture of sodamide and esters. Sodium compounds have to be used in industries, paper, glass, soap, textile, petroleum and metal. Sodium is a white soft silvery metal which is stored in paraffin.

Reactivity and Relationship Sodium is a very reactive element. it floats on water. Fast reaction with cold water. The reaction of sodium with water-the sodium melts to a silvery ball and fizzes as it spins over the water. The relationship between Sodium and the Reactivity Series is big. Sodium reacts to almost everything, it is second at the top of the reactivity series list.

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