The Reactivity Race
How reactive is each metal, and why does it matter? Use the reactivity series to predict how metals are extracted, then meet the Haber process and its compromise conditions.
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The reactivity race 🏆
Some metals are far more reactive than others. This "race" decides how each metal is **extracted** from its ore. It also explains a key industrial reaction, the **Haber process** for making ammonia.
Key terms 📖
Learn these before you begin:
Order by reactivity
An interactive activity.
Most reactive
In the reactivity series, which of these metals is the most reactive?
- Potassium
- Iron
- Copper
- Gold
How metals are extracted 🔥
How a metal is extracted depends on its place in the reactivity series compared with **carbon**. Metals **more reactive than carbon** (like aluminium) are extracted by **electrolysis**. Metals **less reactive than carbon** (like iron) are extracted by **reduction with carbon**: heating the ore with carbon, which removes the oxygen.
Match each metal to how it is extracted
- Aluminium
- Iron
- Gold
- Position vs carbon
- Extracted by electrolysis
- Extracted by reduction with carbon
- Found as the metal itself
- Decides which method is used
Extracting iron
How is iron extracted from its ore?
- By reduction with carbon, as iron is less reactive than carbon
- By electrolysis, as iron is more reactive than carbon
- It is found as pure iron in the ground
- By burning it in oxygen
The Haber process 🧪
The **Haber process** makes **ammonia** (NH3), used in fertilisers. Nitrogen and hydrogen react, and the double arrow shows the reaction is **reversible**: N2 + 3H2 gives 2NH3, and back again. The conditions are a **compromise**: about 450°C, about 200 atmospheres of pressure, and an iron catalyst.
The Haber frame
The Haber process makes _____ from nitrogen and hydrogen. It uses an _____ catalyst, high _____, and a temperature that is a _____ between rate and yield.
Haber conditions
Select the TWO conditions used in the Haber process.
- An iron catalyst
- High pressure, about 200 atmospheres
- A copper catalyst
- Very low pressure
Why not a low temperature?
[Higher tier] The forward reaction in the Haber process is exothermic. Why is a moderate temperature, not a low one, used?
- A low temperature gives a higher yield but is too slow, so a compromise is used
- A high temperature always gives more ammonia
- Temperature has no effect on the reaction
- Ammonia is not made at low temperatures at all
Equilibrium and extraction frame
In a reversible reaction at _____ equilibrium, the forward and backward reactions happen at the same _____. Metals above carbon in the reactivity series are extracted by _____; metals below carbon are extracted by reduction with _____.
Predict the chemistry
An interactive activity.
Explain the compromise
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