1.2 Metals and Alloys

• Physical properties of metals: state, ductility, malleability, electrical and thermal conductivity
• Composition of alloys: steel, stainless steel, bronze, brass and duralumin
• Uses of metals and alloys in day-to-day life
• Rusting: causes, effects and prevention

• describe the physical properties of metals
• describe the composition of alloys
• identify the uses of metals and alloys in day-to-day life
• explain the effects of rusting of metals
• appreciate the importance of common alloys in day-to-day life

“How are alloys important in day-to-day life?”

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1. Metals and non-metals around us
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Most elements are metals, and four quick tests separate them from the non-metals.
2. Lustre and state
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Two properties of metals you can check with your eyes and nothing else.
3. Malleability
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A metal can be hammered into a sheet without shattering, and that is why roofing exists.
4. Ductility
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A metal can be drawn out into a wire, which is why every cable in the country is copper.
5. Electrical conductivity
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A cell, a bulb and a gap: if the bulb lights, the material carries current.
6. Thermal conductivity
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Wax and pins along a heated rod show heat travelling, and let you rank the metals.
7. The physical properties of metals together
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Six properties, and the use that follows from each one.
8. What an alloy is
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A mixture of a metal with something else, made on purpose to improve it.
9. Steel and stainless steel
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Carbon makes iron strong; chromium makes it stainless.
10. Bronze and brass
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Two alloys of copper, distinguished by whether tin or zinc was added.
11. Duralumin
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Aluminium with a little copper: as strong as steel and a third of the weight.
12. Uses of sodium, magnesium and aluminium
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Three light metals, each with a headline property that decides what it is for.
13. Uses of copper, iron, gold and silver
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Four metals people have valued for thousands of years, and what each is best at.
14. Choosing the right alloy
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Each alloy is chosen for a property, and the property explains where you find it.
15. Rusting: causes and effects
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Iron rusts only when both air and water reach it, and the rust protects nothing.
16. Preventing rust
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Every method does the same job: it keeps air and water off the iron.