Chapter - 3

Metals and Non Metals

Page Number: 40

1. Give an example of a metal which :

(i) is a liquid at room temperature.
Mercury
(ii) can be easily cut with a knife.
Sodium
(iii) is the best conductor of heat.
Silver
(iv) is a poor conductor of heat.
Lead

2. Explain the meanings of malleable and ductile.

Malleable : A metal that can be beaten into thin sheets on hammering is called malleable.
Ductile : A metal which can be drawn into thin wires is called ductile.

Page Number: 46

3. Why is sodium kept immersed in kerosene oil ?

Sodium is highly reactive. So it is kept immersed in kerosene oil to prevent its reaction
with oxygen, moisture and carbondioxide of air to prevent accidental fires.

4. Write equations for the reactions of

(i) iron with steam.
(ii) calcium and potassium with water.

5. Samples of four metals A, B, C and D were taken and added to the following solution one
by one.
The results obtained have been tabulated as follows :
Metal Iron (II) sulphate Copper (II) sulphate Zinc sulphate Silver nitrate
A No reaction Displacement
B Displacement No reaction
C No reaction No reaction No reaction Displacement
D No reaction No reaction No reaction No reaction
Use the Table above to answer the following questions about metals A, B, C and D.
(i) Which is the most reactive metal ?
 B is the most reactive metal because it gives displacement reaction with iron (II)
sulphate.

(ii) What would you observe if B is added to a solution of copper (II) sulphate?
When metal B is added to copper (II) sulphate solution, a displacement reaction will take
place due to which the blue colour of copper (II) sulphate solution will fade and a red-brown
deposit of copper will be formed on metal B.

(iii) Arrange the metals A, B, C and D in the order of decreasing reactivity.

Metal B is the most reactive because it displaces iron from its salt solution. Metal A is
less reactive because it displaces copper from its salt solution. Metal C is still less reactive
because it can displace only silver from its salt solution and metal D is the least reactive because
it cannot displace any metal from its salt solution. Hence, the decreasing order of reactivity of the
metals is B > A > C > D.

6. Which gas is produced when dilute hydrochloric acid is added to a reactive metal ?
Write the chemical reaction when iron reacts with dilute H2SO4.
Hydrogen gas is produced when dilute hydrochloric acid is added to a reactive metal.
Chemical reaction when iron reacts with dilute H2SO4 :
Fe(s) + H2SO4(aq) → FeSO4(aq) + H2(g)

7. What would you observe when zinc is added to a solution of iron (II) sulphate ? Write
the chemical reaction that takes place.
Zinc is more reactive than iron. Therefore, when zinc is added to a solution of iron (II)
sulphate, then the greenish colour of iron (II) sulphate solution fades gradually due to the
formation of colourless zinc sulphate solution and iron metal is deposited on zinc.

Page Number: 49

8. (i) Write the electron dot structures for sodium, oxygen and magnesium.
(ii) Show the formation of Na2O and MgO by the transfer of electrons.

(iii) What are the ions present in these compounds?

In Na2O, ions present are Na+ and O2-.
In MgO, ions present are Mg2+ and O2-.

9. Why do ionic compounds have high melting points ?

The ionic compounds are made up of positive and negative ions. There is a strong force
of attraction between the oppositely charged ions, so a lot of heat energy is required to break this
force of attraction and melt the ionic compound. Due to this, ionic compounds have high melting
points.

Page Number: 53

10. Define the following terms : (i) Mineral, (ii) Ore and (iii) Gangue.
(i) Mineral : The natural materials in which the metals or their compounds are found in
earth are called minerals.
(ii) Ore : Those minerals from which the metals can be extracted conveniently and
profitably are called ores.
(iii) Gangue : The unwanted impurities like sand, rocky material, earthy particles, lime
stone, mica, etc in an ore are called gangue.

11. Name two metals which are found in nature in the free state.
Gold and platinum

12. What chemical process is used for obtaining a metal from its oxide.
Reduction process is used for obtaining a metal from its oxide.
For example, zinc oxide is reduced to metallic zinc by heating with carbon.

ZnO(s) + C(s) → Zn(s) + CO(g)

Besides carbon, highly reactive metals like sodium, calcium, aluminium etc. are used as reducing
agents. These displace metals of low reactivity from their oxides.
For example,
Fe2O3(s) + 2Al(s) → 2Fe(l) + Al2O3(s) + Heat

Page Number: 55

13. Metallic oxides of zinc, magnesium and copper were heated with the following metals :
 Metal Zinc Magnesium Copper
1. Zinc oxide
2. Magnesium oxide
3. Copper oxide

In which cases will you find displacement reactions taking place ?

A more reactive metal can displace a less reactive metal from its oxide. But out of zinc,
magnesium, and copper metals, magnesium is the most reactive, zinc is less reactive whereas
copper is the least reactive metal.

The displacement will take place in the following cases :

Metal Zinc Magnesium Copper

1. Zinc oxide – Displacement –
2. Magnesium oxide – – –
3. Copper oxide Displacement Displacement –

14. Which metals do not corrode easily ?

Gold and Platinum.

15. What are alloys ?

An alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or more metals, or a metal and a non-metal.
For example, bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.

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16.You are given a hammer, a battery, a bulb, wires and a switch.

(a) How could you use them to distinguish between samples of metals and non-metals?
Metals can be beaten into thin sheets with a hammer without breaking. Non-metals
cannot be beaten with a hammer to form thin sheets. Non-metals break into pieces when
hammered. Metals are malleable, while non-metals are non-melleable. When metals are
connected into circuit using a battery, bulb, wires and switch, current passes through the circuit
and the bulb glows. When non-metals (like sulphur) are connected, the bulb does not light up at
all. Metals are good conductors of electricity.
(b) Assess the usefulness of these tests in distinguishing between metals and non-metals.
Because of malleability, metals can be casted into sheets. Metals are good conductors of
electricity so these can be used for electrical cables.

17.What are amphoteric oxides ? Give two examples of amphoteric oxides ?

Those metal oxides which show basic as well as acidic behaviour are known as
amphoteric oxides. In other words, metal oxides that react wtih both acids and bases to form salt
and water are called amphoteric oxides. Aluminium oxide and zinc oxide are amphoteric in
nature.
18.Name two metals which will displace hydrogen from dilute acids and two metals which
will not.
(i) Metals above hydrogen in the activity series like sodium and magnesium displace
hydrogen from dilute acids.
(ii) Metals below hydrogen in the activity series like copper, silver do not displace
hydrogen from dilute acids.

19. In the electrolytic refining of a metal M, what would you take as the anode, the cathode
and the electrolyte ?

Cathode – Pure metal

Anode – Impure metal
Electrolyte – Metal salt solution

20. Pratyush took sulphur powder on a spatula and heated it. He collected the gas evolved
by inverting a test tube over it, as shown in the figure.
(a) What will be the action of gas on
(i) dry litmus paper ?
(ii) moist litmus paper ?
(b) Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction taking place.

(i) Dry litmus paper – no action.

(ii) Moist litmus paper – becomes red.

21. State two ways to prevent the rusting of iron.

Ways to prevent rusting of iron are :
(a) By painting
(b) By galvanizing

22. What type of oxides are formed when non-metals combine with oxygen ?
Non-metals combine with oxygen to form acidic oxides or neutral oxides.

23. Give reasons :

(a) Platinum, gold and silver are used to make jewellery.
Platinum, gold and silver are used to make jewellery because these are malleable
and ductile. These are highly resistant to corrosion.

(b) Sodium, potassium and lithium are stored under oil.

Sodium, potassium and lithium are very reactive and catch fire when exposed to air. This
is due to their low ignition temperature and high reactivity.

(c) Aluminium is a highly reactive metal, yet it is used to make utensils for cooking.
Aluminium forms a non-reactive layer of aluminium oxide on its surface. This layer
prevents aluminium to react with other substances. That’s why aluminium is used to make
cooking utensils.

(d) Carbonate and sulphide ores are usually converted into oxides during the process of
extraction.
It is easier to reduce a metal oxide into free metal. Since it is easier to obtain metals from
their oxides than from their carbonates or sulphides directly, therefore, the carbonate and
sulphide ores are first converted to oxides for extracting the metals.

24. You must have seen tarnished copper vessels being cleaned with lemon or tamarind
juice. Explain why these sour substances are effective in cleaning the vessels.
The sour substances such as lemon or tamarind juice contain acids. These acids dissolve
the coating of copper oxide or basic copper carbonate present on the surface of tarnished copper
vessels and makes them shining red-brown again.
25.Differentiate between metal and non-metal on the basis of their chemical properties.

Difference between metals and non-metals

Metals Non-metals
(i) Metals form basic oxides or amphoteric (i) Non-metals form acidic or neutral
oxides. oxides.
(ii) Metals replace hydrogen from acids and (ii) Non-metals do not replace hydrogen
form salts. from acids.
(iii) With chlorine, metals form chlorides (iii) With chlorine, non-metals form
which are electrovalent. chlorides which are covalent.
(iv) With hydrogen few metals form (iv) With hydrogen, non-metals form many
hydrides which are electrovalent. stable hydrides which are covalent.

26. A man went door-to door posing as a goldsmith. He promised to bring back the glitter
of old and dull gold ornaments. An unsuspecting lady gave a set of gold bangles to him
which he dipped in a particular solution. The bangles sparkled like new but their weight
was reduced drastically. The lady was upset but after a futile argument the man beat a
hasty repeat. Can you play the detective to find out the nature of the solution he has used ?
The dishonest goldsmith dipped the gold bangles in aqua-regia (which contains 3 parts of
concentrated hydrochloric acid and1 part of concentrated nitric acid, by volume). Aqua-regia
dissolved a considerable amount of gold from gold bangles and hence reduced their weight
drastically. The dishonest goldsmith can recover the dissolved gold from aqua-regia by a suitable
treatment.

27. Give reasons why copper is used to make hot water tanks and not steel (an alloy of
iron).
(i) Copper is a better conductor of heat than steel.
(ii) Copper does not corrode easily. But steel corrodes easily.
(iii) Copper does not react with water at any temperature, whereas iron reacts with water
on heating.