Why are metals found as ores and not as pure metals?

Explanation: Metals are electron rich species, and as such are good reducing agents. Many metals naturally occur as oxides or sulfide ores. One of the few metals that are not so reactive is gold, which can be found (still) as the pure metal.

Why do metals need to be refined from the ore?

An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements such as metals. Ores are extracted through mining; they are then refined to extract the valuable element(s). Ore bodies are formed by a variety of geological processes.

Why are most metals not found in their pure form?

An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements in solid solution in which the major component is a metal. Most pure metals are either too soft, brittle, or chemically reactive for practical use. Combining different ratios of metals as alloys modifies the properties of pure metals to produce desirable characteristics.

Why are most metals found in ores?

Metals less reactive than carbon can be produced by heating the metal compounds in the ore with carbon. Ores contain enough metal to make it economic to extract the metal. Large amounts of rock need to be quarried or mined to get metal ores.

Why are some metals found pure in the ground?

A native metal is any metal that is found pure in its metallic form in nature. The others usually occur as isolated pockets where a natural chemical process reduces a common compound or ore of the metal, leaving the pure metal behind as small flakes or inclusions.

What is refining of metals explain electrolytic refining with diagram?

In electrolytic process, the impure metal is made as anode and a thin strip of pure metal is made as cathode. A solution of the metal salt is made as an electrolyte. On passing the current through the electrolyte, the pure metal from the anode dissolves into the electrolyte.

Which of the metals is found in nature as the ore?

Only gold, silver, copper and the platinum group occur native in large amounts. Over geological time scales, very few metals can resist natural weathering processes like oxidation, so mainly the less reactive metals such as gold and platinum are found as native metals.

What are oxide ores?

Oxide ore is an ore which contains metals in oxidized forms. In other terms, oxide ore is a mineral (from which a metal can be extracted) in which the elements combine with oxygen to form oxides. Here the metal is in the form of oxide that is in the copper (I) oxide.

Why different alkali metals form different oxides?

Group 1 metals are very reactive with oxygen and must be kept away from oxygen in order to not get oxidized. These alkali metals rapidly react with oxygen to produce several different ionic oxides.

Why pure metal is collected at cathode during electrolytic refining?

anions carry the impurity. negative charge hence they get attracted towards anode. Hence pure metal is always collected at the cathode.