Aluminium is extracted from its ore by electrolysis - OCR Gateway - GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science - Question 6 - 2019 - Paper 4
Question 6
Aluminium is extracted from its ore by electrolysis.
Which statement explains why aluminium can only be extracted by electrolysis?
A. Aluminium is higher than carb... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Aluminium is extracted from its ore by electrolysis - OCR Gateway - GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science - Question 6 - 2019 - Paper 4
Step 1
A. Aluminium is higher than carbon in the reactivity series.
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Answer
This statement is true, as aluminium is indeed higher than carbon in the reactivity series. This explains why aluminium cannot be extracted using carbon reduction methods, which are effective for metals lower in the series.
Step 2
B. Aluminium is higher than iron in the reactivity series.
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While this statement is also true, it does not directly address the reason aluminum specifically requires electrolysis for extraction, as iron can be reduced using carbon.
Step 3
C. Aluminium is lower than carbon in the reactivity series.
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This statement is false; aluminium is higher than carbon, which is why aluminium extraction necessitates electrolysis.
Step 4
D. Aluminium is lower than sodium in the reactivity series.
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This statement is incorrect as aluminium is actually higher than sodium in the reactivity series, which is not relevant to the extraction process.
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