Discussion Question

States of metals.

Find a rusty nail or something rusty (in my case my truck has plenty of rust.)  Use some sandpaper to remove some of the rust until you get to the shiny metal underneath.  The red rust is iron(III)oxide (Fe₂O₃).  In rust the iron is in it's ionic state (It is combined with oxygen to form an ionic compound.).  In the the shiny steel/iron, the iron is in it's elemental state.  You can read about the properties of metal in your book (page 285) and the properties of ionic compounds at the following web site:  http://www.scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/wv/4/0004-004-Properties.html

Iron      Rust

Metals in their elemental state are often 1)shiny, 2) bendable, malleable, and 3) conducts heat and electricity.    Iron when combined with oxygen does not show these properties.

In our discussion forum "Metals" please answer one of the following questions:

1)  Calcium is a metal in our bones.  Is the calcium in our bones in it's ionic or elemental state?  Explain.

  For a picture of elemental calcium go to the web site http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Ca/key.html 

2)  Sodium is a metal in table salt NaCl.  Is the sodium in our salt in it's ionic or elemental state?  Explain.

3)  Gold is a metal.  Is the gold in our jewelry in it's ionic or elemental state?  Explain.