Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Chemistry · 4CH1 · Free · no account needed
Extracting Metals from their Ores — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on extracting Metals from their Ores, 27 marks, about 27 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Extracting Metals from their Ores — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
8 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- Name (1 mark)
- the correct chemical name
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer — the most common chemistry command
- Describe (2–5 marks)
- developed, linked statements of what happens or what is observed Misread as: giving one bare observation where the tariff asked for a developed account
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the reason, in terms of particles, bonding, energy or equilibrium Misread as: describing the observation without giving the chemistry that causes it
- Write (1–3 marks)
- the equation, formula or ionic equation, balanced, with state symbols where asked
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught chemistry to an unfamiliar substance
- Identify (1–2 marks)
- the correct substance or feature selected from what is given
Assessed on Paper 1 (4CH1/1C) and Paper 2 (4CH1/2C), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry (4CH1) — statements 2.22 · 2.23 · 2.24. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 12 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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Table 1 — how four metals are obtained Metal Found in the ground as Extraction method gold the metal itself none needed iron iron(III) oxide heated with carbon in a blast furnace zinc zinc oxide heated with carbon aluminium aluminium oxide electrolysis of the molten oxide Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(a)
(1)Identify
Identify the metal in Table 1 that needs no extraction at all.
Table 1 — how four metals are obtained Metal Found in the ground as Extraction method gold the metal itself none needed iron iron(III) oxide heated with carbon in a blast furnace zinc zinc oxide heated with carbon aluminium aluminium oxide electrolysis of the molten oxide Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(b)
(2)Explain
Explain what the second column of Table 1 shows about the reactivity of the four metals.
Table 1 — how four metals are obtained Metal Found in the ground as Extraction method gold the metal itself none needed iron iron(III) oxide heated with carbon in a blast furnace zinc zinc oxide heated with carbon aluminium aluminium oxide electrolysis of the molten oxide Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(c)
(3)Explain
Explain why iron and zinc in Table 1 share a method that aluminium cannot use.
Table 1 — how four metals are obtained Metal Found in the ground as Extraction method gold the metal itself none needed iron iron(III) oxide heated with carbon in a blast furnace zinc zinc oxide heated with carbon aluminium aluminium oxide electrolysis of the molten oxide Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest why aluminium was more expensive than gold in the 1850s but is now one of the cheapest metals in Table 1.
Table 1 — how four metals are obtained Metal Found in the ground as Extraction method gold the metal itself none needed iron iron(III) oxide heated with carbon in a blast furnace zinc zinc oxide heated with carbon aluminium aluminium oxide electrolysis of the molten oxide Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which term describes a rock from which a metal can be extracted profitably?
Term A an alloy B an ore C a mixture D an electrolyte (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the substance used to remove oxygen from iron oxide in a blast furnace.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give one metal that is found in the ground as the metal itself.
Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Describe
Describe how the position of a metal in the reactivity series decides the method used to extract it.
Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why aluminium cannot be extracted by heating aluminium oxide with carbon.
Reactivity series, with carbon shown — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, CARBON, zinc, iron, copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(2)Write
Write the balanced symbol equation for the reduction of zinc oxide by carbon, in which carbon dioxide is formed.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(3)Suggest
A company can obtain copper either by smelting a rich ore or by extracting it from waste heaps containing very little copper. Suggest two factors it would weigh up in choosing between them.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(5)Describe
Describe what happens inside a blast furnace to turn iron oxide into molten iron.
(Total for Question 9 = 5 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 12 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain extracting Metals from their Ores to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Humphry Davy over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Extracting Metals from their Ores — Where a metal sits in the reactivity series decides how much trouble it takes to get it out.
- All of Incandio Chemistry · Incandio Exam Practice