O LevelChemistryCambridgeTopic Questions9. Metals9.3 Alloys & their Properties

Alloys & their Properties (Cambridge O Level Chemistry)

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1a2 marks

About 4000 years ago the Bronze Age started in Britain. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.

i)
Suggest a reason why a bronze axe was better than a copper axe.

[1]
ii)
Brass is another copper alloy. Name the other metal in brass.

[1]

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1b6 marks

The diagram below shows the arrangement of particles in a pure metal.

pure-metal-

i)
What is the name given to a regular arrangement of particles in a crystalline solid?

[1]
ii)
Draw a diagram which shows the arrangement of particles in an alloy.

[2]
iii)
Explain the term malleable.

[1]
iv)
Why are metals malleable?

[2]

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1c2 marks

The common ore of tin is tin(IV) oxide and an ore of copper is malachite, CuCO3.Cu(OH)2.

i)
Write a word equation for the reduction of tin(IV) oxide by carbon.
[1]
ii)
Give one use of copper, other than making alloys.
[1]

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2a1 mark

Alloys of copper are used to make coins. 

What is meant by the term alloy?

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2b1 mark

Suggest why an alloy of copper is used to make coins instead of using pure copper.

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2c1 mark

The diagrams show part of the structures of five substances, A, B, C, D and E.q1-0620_s19_qp_32

State which one of these structures, conducts electricity when solid.

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3a1 mark

An alloy of cobalt, chromium and molybdenum is used to make cutlery.

Which one of the following diagrams best represents the structure of the alloy?


Draw a circle around the correct answer.
q6e-0620_s19_qp_32

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3b1 mark

Which one of these substances is also used to make cutlery?


Tick one box.

 
mercury  
sodium  
stainless steel  
graphite  

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3c1 mark

An alloy contains zinc, copper and aluminium.

What is meant by the term alloy?

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3d1 mark

Zinc and copper are elements next to each other in the Periodic Table.

Name the alloy formed when zinc is mixed with copper.

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1a3 marks

The list shows the names of some metals.

 
calcium
copper
iron
magnesium
silver 
zinc

i)
Identify the metal from the box that burns with a bright white flame.

[1]

ii)
In the Earth, metals are found either in ores or as uncombined elements. Explain which metal from the box is most likely to be found as an uncombined element.
[2]

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1b4 marks
i)
Which metal or metals from the list in part (a) will react readily in oxygen?
[2]
ii)
Give an equation to show a metal reacting with oxygen. Include state symbols.

[2]

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1c4 marks

The diagram shows the arrangement of the particles in a pure metal.

screen-shot-2022-10-14-at-14-59-52

Metals are often made into alloys to make them harder.

Explain why alloys are harder than pure metals.

Draw a diagram to support your answer.

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1d4 marks

Complete the table by naming two alloys and giving the elements used to make each alloy.

Alloy name Elements used to make alloy
   
   

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2a2 marks

Tungsten is a useful metal. It has the chemical symbol W.

One method of extracting tungsten involves heating a tungsten compound, WO3, with hydrogen. Water is also produced. Write the balanced symbol equation for this reaction.

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2b2 marks

Identify what has been reduced. Give a reason for your answer.

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2c3 marks

Tungsten alloyed with nickel and copper can be used to make protective covers for electrical sensors and missile guidance systems. Explain why this alloy is stronger than pure titanium. 

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2d
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An ore of tungsten is Scheelite. The composition of this ore is 13.9% of calcium, 63.9% of tungsten and the remainder is oxygen. Calculate the empirical formula for this ore of tungsten.

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3a2 marks

Steel is formed from iron and carbon and is widely used in the construction industry.

i)
Explain why steel alloys are used in preference to iron.
[1]
ii)
State a use of stainless steel.
[1]

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3b4 marks

Both iron and steel have typical metallic structures - a lattice of positive ions and a sea of electrons.

i)
Explain why iron and steel have high melting points.

[2]

ii)
Explain why, when a force is applied to a piece of steel, it does not break but changes its shape.

[2]

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3c1 mark

Brass is an alloy of two metals, copper and zinc.


Which statement is correct?

Tick one box.


Brass dissolves fully in hydrochloric acid  
   
Brass has a chemical formula of CuZn  
   
Brass is formed by a chemical reaction between two metals   
   
One of the metals in the alloy will dissolve in dilute hydrochloric acid  

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3d
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Separate: Chemistry and Extended Only

Acid digestion is a method used to dissolve metals into a solution which can then be analysed to determine the composition of the metal.

A 3.00 g sample of an aluminium alloy was reacted with an excess of concentrated nitric acid. The resulting mixture was made up to 250 cm3 with distilled water and analysed. The concentration of aluminium ions in the 250 cm3 solution was found to be 0.36 mol/dm3.

Calculate the percentage composition by mass of aluminum in the 3.00 g sample of aluminum alloy.

[Ar (Al) = 27]

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1a4 marks

Iron from the blast furnace is impure. It contains about 4% carbon and 0.5% silicon. Most of this impure iron is used to make mild steel, an alloy of iron containing less than 0.25% carbon.

A jet of oxygen is blown through the molten iron in the presence of a base, usually calcium oxide. Explain how the percentage of carbon is reduced and how the silicon is removed. 

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1b2 marks
i)
Why are steel alloys used in preference to iron?
[1]
ii)
State a use of the following alloy.

Stainless steel
[1]

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1c4 marks

Both iron and steel have typical metallic structures - a lattice of positive ions and a sea of electrons.

i)
Suggest an explanation for why they have high melting points.

[2]

ii)
Explain why, when a force is applied to a piece of steel, it does not break but just changes its shape.

[2]

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2a
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Vanadium is a transition element.

An atom of the most common isotope of vanadium can be represented as begin mathsize 14px style V presubscript 23 presuperscript 51 end style.

Complete the following table to show the number of protons, electrons and neutrons in each particle.

cie-9-1-chart

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2b4 marks

The major use of vanadium is to make vanadium steel alloys.

 
i)
Explain the phrase steel alloys.

[2]

ii)
State the name and use of another steel alloy.

[2]

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2c
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Two of the oxidation states of vanadium are +3 and +4.

 
i)
Write the formula of vanadium(III) oxide and of vanadium(IV) oxide.

[2]

ii)
Vanadium(III) oxide is basic and vandium(IV) oxide is amphoteric.
Describe how you would obtain a sample of vanadium(III) oxide from a mixture of these two oxides.

[3]

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