Topic 9.6.1 · Core
⛰️ The Extraction Ladder
The more reactive a metal, the tighter it grips its oxygen — and the harder (and more expensive) it is to extract. Master the Reactivity Series to master metal extraction.
The Analogy: Imagine each metal is holding oxygen like a wrestler holding a trophy. Gold holds it so loosely the trophy just falls. Iron grips it tightly — you need a stronger wrestler (Carbon) to rip it away. Aluminium grips oxygen with super-glue — Carbon can't break it. You need a massive bolt of ⚡ electricity to blast them apart.
Click a metal for details
⚡ Electrolysis Zone— very expensive (huge electricity costs)
⚖️ Carbon — The Judge
🔥 Carbon Reduction Zone— cheap (industrial furnaces)
💛 Native Metal Zone— free! Already pure in the ground
⚠️ Examiner's Trap
⚠️Copper can be extracted by carbon reduction — but it's so low in reactivity that heating copper ore alone sometimes works (displacement isn't always needed).
⚠️'Carbon' in the blast furnace is called COKE (a form of carbon from coal). Always write 'coke' or 'carbon' — never just 'coal'.
⚠️Aluminium is ABOVE carbon in the reactivity series — students often forget this and say it's extracted by carbon. It is NOT.
Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry 0620 · Topic 9.6.1 · Core · Extraction of Metals
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