Chemistry › Section R · Metals, metalloids, and nonmetals › Topic R.2
Representative metals
Sodium, aluminium, magnesium and zinc are everywhere in modern life, yet none of them occurs as a free metal in nature. This topic shows where they come from and the two strategies, electrolysis and chemical reduction, that industry uses to set them free.
In this topic
- Metals locked in minerals
- Two ways to free a metal
- Sodium: the Downs cell
- Aluminium: purifying the ore
- Aluminium: the Hall–Héroult process
- Worked example: charge to make aluminium
- Magnesium: from seawater or from rock
- Potassium: reduced by sodium
- Zinc and tin: roasting and carbon
- Worked example: zinc from its sulfide
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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