A sports equipment designer compares an aluminium frame with a plastic handle. Fig. 1 shows positive metal ions arranged in aluminium, with a cloud of elect...
Question 1 Report
A sports equipment designer compares an aluminium frame with a plastic handle. Fig. 1 shows positive metal ions arranged in aluminium, with a cloud of electrons around them.
(a) What is the charge on each aluminium ion in Fig. 1? [1]
(b) Name the particles represented by e⁻. [1]
(c) Suggest why aluminium can be bent into a frame without breaking. [1]
(d) Give one property of aluminium that would make it unsuitable for an electrical cable if it did not have mobile electrons. [1]
Fig. 1 shows a model used by an engineer developing an electrical contact made from an iron and carbon alloy. The large circles are iron atoms and the smaller circles are carbon atoms in spaces between them.
(a) Name the main type of bonding between iron atoms in the alloy. [1]
(b) Suggest why adding small carbon atoms can make iron harder. [1]
(c) Give the element represented by Fe. [1]
(d) Use the model to suggest why the alloy still conducts electricity. [1]
(e) Complete the sentence. An alloy contains a metal mixed with one or more other ______. [1]
Answer Details
Aluminium structure
- (a) Each aluminium ion has charge 3+. [1]
- (b) The particles labelled \(e^-\) are electrons. [1]
- (c) Aluminium is malleable because layers of positive ions can slide while the metallic attraction to delocalised electrons remains. [1]
- (d) Without mobile electrons, aluminium would not conduct electricity, making it unsuitable for an electrical cable. [1]
Iron-carbon alloy
- (a) The main bonding between iron atoms is metallic bonding. [1]
- (b) Small carbon atoms prevent layers of iron atoms from sliding easily, making the alloy harder. [1]
- (c) Fe represents iron. [1]
- (d) The alloy still conducts because it has delocalised electrons that can move and carry charge. [1]
- (e) An alloy contains a metal mixed with one or more other elements. [1]
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