KS3 Science
Chemistry
8Ge Pure Metals and Alloys
Learning Objective
What makes alloys so useful?
Success Criteria
● I can explain what alloys are and why they are used
● I can use models to explain the properties of alloys
● I can identify pure substances by their melting points and
boiling points
The Big Picture
● Section 1 – Metal Properties
○ Physical Properties, Chemical Properties and Catalysts
● Section 2 – Corrosion
○ Corrosion, Rusting and Protection of Metals
● Section 3 – Metals and Water
○ Reactions with Water and the Reactivity Series
● Section 4 – Metals and Acids
○ Reactions with Acids and Salts Formed
● Section 5 – Pure Metals and Alloys
○ Pure Metals, Alloys and Properties of Metals
Recap
● Metals react faster with acid than they do water however we can still
use their different reactivities to make a reactivity series
● The gas given off in the reaction of metals and acids is hydrogen and
the solution formed is a salt solution
● We can get the solid salt from the solution by evaporation
● Sulfuric acid makes sulfate salts, Nitric acid makes nitrate salts and
Hydrochloric acid makes chloride salts
● This reactivity series can be used to predict the positions of a metal in
the series or the reactions of metals
Alloys vs Pure Metals
● Most of the metals used in everyday life are not actually pure
metals (i.e. just one metal element)
● Most metals used in life have other metals mixed in and these
mixtures are known as alloys
● Alloys are very useful because they have more desirable
properties than pure metals
● These properties are very useful when used in building
materials and other everyday uses
Added Improved Example of
Alloy Main Metal
Elements Properties Use
To bond
Lower
Solder Lead Tin metals
melting point
together
Copper and Lighter and Airplane
Duralumin Aluminium
magnesium stronger bodies
Stronger and
Carbon, Cutlery,
Stainless more
Iron Chromium, sinks and
Steel resistant to
Nickel etc. jewellery
corrosion
Structure of Alloys
● The difference in properties of alloys compared to pure
metals can be explained by comparing the structures
● When different sized atoms are added in to a metal it
changes the regular lattice structure
● This change means that the lattice layers cannot slide
over each other as easily which makes the metal stronger
● A picture of this is shown on the next slide
Structure of Alloys
Properties of Alloys
● The commonly changed property in alloys compared to pure
metals is the melting point
● A pure metal has a boiling point or melting point of one specific
temperature
● An alloy or a mixture melts/boils over a range of temperatures
● The temperature ranges depend on the percentages of each
metal in the alloy.
Properties of Alloys
Properties of Alloys
● Making an alloy can change chemical properties as well
as physical properties
● The most common example is stainless steel which is
made by adding carbon into iron
● This alloy is less reactive than iron and it means that it is
less easily corroded because it will not react with oxygen
Properties of Alloys
● An example of using stainless steel is
in the Chrysler building in New York
City.
● Despite it built in 1930, it is still shiny
on the outside because it is made of
stainless steel that has not corroded
● This is the total opposite to the Statue
of Liberty that we previously
discussed
Learning Objective
What makes alloys so useful?
Success Criteria
● I can explain what alloys are and why they are used
● I can use models to explain the properties of alloys
● I can identify pure substances by their melting points and
boiling points
