Question

explain with a suitable example the metal usd yo reduce the following a)oxides of less reactive metals b)oxides of moderately reactive metals c)oxides of highly reactive metal

Answer 1

(i) Oxides of less reactive metals— these less reactive metal oxides will not usually displace hydrogen from acids and can be extracted by heating the oxide in hydrogen, though is rarely done e.g. for cost (not as cheap as coke/carbon) and safety reasons (hydrogen very explosive in air).

 

(ii) Oxides of moderately reactive metals-- these moderately reactive metal oxides can be extracted by heating the oxide with carbon or carbon monoxide.

 

(iii) Oxides of highly reactive metals—these reactive metal oxides cannot be usually extracted by carbon or carbon monoxide reduction and are usually extracted by electrolysis. In sense this means that these reactive metals in the reactivity series cannot be 'displaced' from their compounds by carbon.