Jigsaw groups of chemical elements (answers to questions)

p. 50

6a
i A metal (iron or copper)
ii A noble gas
iii Alkali metals; alkaline earth metals
iv Halogens
v Alkali metals
vi Rare earth elements

b.
Group Physical Chemical
Metals Shiny, lustrous, malleable Form positive ions
and (cations
ductile, electrically and
thermally
conductive
Alkali metals As above; soft Highly reactive; form ions
Alkaline earth As metals Highly reactive; form
metals positive
ions; form stable
compounds
with oxygen and halogens
Rare earth AS metals; soft, dense, Reactive; form positive
elements often ions, and
mixed with other REEs stable compounds with
oxygen
and halogens
Halogens Gas, usually diatomic; Toxic; reactive; form
coloured negative
ions (anions)
Noble gases Gas, monatomic; Unreactive
colourless;
electrified plasmas are
coloured

c
Smelting (used for metals known in prehistoric times)
Electrolysis (alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens)
Nuclear reactors (create new elements)
Distillation of liquefied air (noble gases)

d None; consider the examples listed in the readings

e Students responses will vary.

Summary reflection (metals, p. 52)

1 Metal structure can be considered as a lattice of positively charged ions (cations)

surrounded by a sea of mobile, delocalized electrons (valence electrons see Chapter
8). These electrons move when heat and electrical energy are transferred, and are also
involved in chemical reactions. (More detail in Chapter 4.)

2 Hammering distorts the positive ions in the lattice, and the charged positive nuclei
of metal atoms slip or slide within the sea of delocalized electrons. Alloys are formed
when different metals are mixed together (when molten).

3 Iron (pots and pans), copper (ornaments, cooking utensils, belt and shoe buckles),
gold and silver (jewelry), lead (leadacid car batteries, old pipes, some ornaments,
lead flashing or waterproof strips on roofs), tin (coating on iron/steel food cans).

Summary reflection (alkali metals, p. 53)

1 All alkaline earth metals are chemically highly reactive for example, they react
rapidly with water or oxygen. However, their products are stable (as solids) or as
ionic solutions.

2 The word earth refers to the idea that they are incombustible or cannot burn.
Their oxides (compounds where the metal has already combined with oxygen) are
very stable substances (and common minerals) and early analytical chemistry was not
able to separate them.

3 The discovery of batteries resulted in the development of electrolysis, and this

enabled many highly reactive elements to be isolated from their compounds. The new
science of spectroscopy also helped identify several new elements.

Summary reflection (halogens, p. 55)

1 The halogens are a group of coloured, reactive, non-metal elements with low boiling
points (below 200 C), forming diatomic vapours at low temperatures.

2 Hydrofluoric acid is so corrosive that it is used to etch glass, while apatite is a

fluorine compound that safely covers our teeth. Hydrochloric acid is corrosive while
bleach contains chlorine and is a disinfectant in contrast, dissolved sodium chloride
exists in our body fluids.

3.
Summary reflection (rare earth elements, p. 57)

1 Grey to silvery lustrous metals; often soft; dense.

2 Televisions and computers, smart phones, high-quality camera lenses, the tiny
permanent magnets in earphones and hard drives. Some REEs also have a use in
military defence (missile systems), so strategic planning would suggest that most
countries want to have control of their own supplies.

3 Currently, these substances will be extracted by countries that offer the cheapest
supplies. This may mean that those countries bypass environmental safeguards to
reduce costs. This gives them an economic advantage. Only consumer pressure or
enforced government laws and regulations can change these practices. (An example
with which some students may be familiar is the pressure from consumers not to
purchase battery eggs, for animal welfare reasons. In some countries, this has resulted
in the growth of a new industry offering more expensive eggs from free range
chickens.) Students suggestions of what we should be prepared to pay for our
phones and other goods, to be assured that the industry is clean will vary, but
consumers need to be wealthy enough to be able to afford this choice.

Summary reflection (noble gases, p. 58)

1 Almost or completely unreactive, not bonding with most other elements or each
other. They are monatomic, existing as single atoms.
Argon: used in the steel industry, rectifiers, electric light bulbs, sealed double glazing,
luxury car tyres.
Krypton, neon and xenon: roles in lighting, special lasers
Helium: airships, medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, deep-sea
diving, party balloons.

2 Henry Cavendish (17311810) found that about 1% of the atmosphere consisted of

a gas that would not combine chemically. This was the first evidence for argon. In
1892, the physicist Lord Rayleigh measured a 5/1000th (0.5%) anomaly in the density
of nitrogen found in air compared to nitrogen he knew was pure.

3 Students responses will vary.