10/3/2015 CatExams

CATExamReview
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Question34of41

5 ThemostcommonmetalintheEarths
crust,aluminum(oraluminium)wasnotdiscovered
until1825becauseitsisolatedstateissoreactive
thatfreenuggetsorflakesofthemetalarenever
foundinnaturerather,themetalistypicallyfound
10 aspartofanamalgam,mostcommonlybauxite
ore.Moreover,elementalaluminumisextremely
difficultandexpensivetoseparatefromitsores
bytraditionalchemicalmeans.Indeed,theextreme
reactivityofaluminumhelpsprotectitsmodern,
15 ubiquitousmanifestations,suchasaluminumfoil.
Thesurfaceofpurealuminuminstantlycombines
withatmosphericoxygentoformathinbutrobust
passivizationsealofaluminumoxidethat
preventsfurthercorrosion.Manyothermetals,such
20 asiron,arelessreactivethanaluminum,buttheir
superficialoxidesdonotformasswiftly,
completely,orimpermeably.
Forseveraldecadesafteritsdiscovery,
aluminumwasconsideredapreciousmetaland
25 wasmorecostlythangoldorplatinum,notbecause
ofanyfundamentalscarcity,butbecauseofits
elevatedcostofproduction.Thepriceofaluminum
suddenlyplummetedin1886,however,whentwo
23yearoldinventorsindependentlydevelopedan
30 electrolyticprocessofseparatingpurealuminum
fromabathofmoltenaluminumsalts,primarily
cryolite.Cryoliteitselfisrareenoughthatsynthetic
saltseventuallyreplaceditasthesolutionmedium.

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10/3/2015 CatExams

35

Accordingtothepassage,thenaturalpassivizationlayeronthesurfaceofaluminummetal

causesatmosphericoxygentoreactchemicallywiththemetal
islessimpenetrablethantypicalironoxidefilmsformedonpureiron
lowerstheutilityofaluminuminitsuncontaminatedstate
providesaluminumwithachemicaladvantage,relativetoothermetals
precludestheinexpensivepurificationofthemetalbytraditionalchemicalprocesses

HideExplanation
Thisquestionasksusaboutaspecificdetailmentionedinthepassage:thepassivizationlayeronthesurfaceof
aluminummetal.Thepassageindicatesthatthislayer:(1)isformedfromthecombinationofatmosphericoxygen
withthepuremetal,(2)isthinbutrobust,and(3)preventsfurthercorrosion.Weshouldlookforananswerthat
matchesoneofthesefacts.

(A)Thischoicereversesthestatedcauseandeffectsequence.Thelayeristheresultofthereactionbetween
oxygenandaluminumnotthecauseofthatreaction.

(B)Wearetoldthatthislayeristhinbutrobustinfact,inthenextsentence,wearetoldthatthesuperficial(=
surface)oxidesofirondonotformasswiftly,completely,orimpermeably(asthesurfaceoxidesofaluminum).
Thus,thepassivizationlayeronaluminumisactuallymoreimpenetrablethantheonethatformsoniron.

(C)Wecannotconcludethatthislayerlowerstheutilityorusefulnessofpurealuminum.Ifanything,wewould
guessthatthislayer,becauseitpreventsfurthercorrosion,makespurealuminumverylonglastingandtherefore
moreusefulandthatguesswouldbeaninferenceanyway.

(D)CORRECT.Thepassivizationsealofaluminumoxidepreventsfurthercorrosioninaluminum,whilemany
othermetalsdonotformsuchsealsasswiftly,completely,orimpermeably.Thepassivizationlayer,then,
providesaluminumwithatleastoneadvantagerelativetoothermetals.

(E)Wedonotknowwhetherthislayeriswhatcausesthetraditionalpurificationofaluminumtobeanexpensive
process.
EndExamYoumustselectananswertoproceed.Next>>ProblemList<<Prev

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