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This lesson covers the extraction of metals from their ores, as required by the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification (1CH0), Topic 4: Extracting Metals and Equilibria. You need to understand why different metals require different extraction methods, describe how iron is extracted in a blast furnace, explain why aluminium is extracted by electrolysis, and link extraction to the reactivity series.
Most metals are found in the Earth's crust as ores — rocks that contain enough of a metal compound to make extraction economically worthwhile. Only the most unreactive metals (gold, platinum) are found native (uncombined) in the Earth's crust.
| Metal | Ore Name | Compound in the Ore |
|---|---|---|
| Iron | Haematite | Iron(III) oxide, Fe₂O₃ |
| Aluminium | Bauxite | Aluminium oxide, Al₂O₃ |
| Copper | Malachite / Chalcopyrite | Copper carbonate, CuCO₃ / Copper iron sulfide, CuFeS₂ |
| Zinc | Sphalerite | Zinc sulfide, ZnS |
| Tin | Cassiterite | Tin dioxide, SnO₂ |
The method of extraction depends on the position of the metal in the reactivity series relative to carbon.
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