Occurrence of metals

PART II

UNIT 1

METALS

Task 1. What kinds of metal do you know?

Task 2. How many metals can you name in English?

Task 3. Read the text and complete the table:

metal	use
gold
silver
copper

One basis of classification of the elements groups them into metals and non-metals. It is with the metals that we shall concern ourselves, considering the group as a whole. It is now 2,000 years since Julius Caesar was stabbed in a small auditorium known as Pompeii's Curia and his body cremated in the Roman Forum. Since that time, many changes have taken place. Yet, in a sense, many things have remained the same. Steel is still the basic material of armaments, although, it is not used in the manufacture of shields and short swords. Gold, silver, and copper are, as 2,000 years ago, the coinage metals. Bronze is still used for objects in­tended to resist the corrosive action of the atmosphere, but now it has many competitors.

Knowledge of the metals, of course, has increased, greatly since Caesar's day. Yet, the average citizen might have difficulty in naming more than twice as many metals as a Roman could. The Roman world knew, at least, copper, lead, gold, silver, tin, iron, mercury, and zinc (in a copper alloy). To this list, the twentieth-century's man in the street might add aluminum, magnesium, nickel, chromium, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, ura­nium, and one or two others. If he happened to be interested in aeronautics, he might add titanium. Almost certainly, he would be unable to name more than a third of the known metals.

The first metals which were used by primitive man were those that are found free in nature to a comparatively large extent. These are gold, silver, and copper. Tin entered the metal picture when someone discovered, probably accidentally, that if it was mixed with copper the resulting substance was harder. So there came into being the alloy that we call bronze, a material which was so important in the ancient world that its name is given to one of the cultural stages in human development. The Bronze Age began in Egypt around 3,000 before our era and in Europe some 500 or 1,000 years later.

Since almost no iron exists free in nature, it undoubtedly came into general use somewhat later than those just mentioned. However, the Egyptians and Assyrians made some use of iron a number of centuries before our era. As soon as methods were developed for separating iron from its ores in reasonably large quantities and at fairly low cost, it ceased to be classed as a precious material and began its career as the world's most valuable metal from the standpoint of actual use.

It is only since the time a man had learnt how to obtain and use metals and their alloys, he has been able to adapt his environment to his needs and desires. The present age is, in fact, the Age of Metals and it is important that we should have some acquaintance with these useful substances. In the ancient times, gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, lead and mercury were known as "The Seven Metals".

One other metal, zinc, has also been known in its role as one of the constituents of the alloy brass. Almost no metals other than these seven or eight were known until the eighteenth century and many that we use today, not until the nineteenth.

Metals are mostly solids at ordinary temperature and have comparatively high melting points with the exception of mercury. They are for the most part good conductors of heat and electricity, and silver is the best in these respects. They can be drawn into fine wires and hammered into thin sheets, characteristics that are called ductility and malleability, respectively. An ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire almost 50 miles long or hammered into a sheet that has an area of between 175 and 200 square feet.

From the point of tonnage produced and used, iron is the world's most common metal, followed in turn by copper, zinc, lead and aluminium.

Task 4. Find in the text equivalents to the following words and expressions:

класифікація елементів, озброєння, щит, пересічний громадянин, мідний сплав, кінцева речовина, відокремлення заліза від руди, дорогоцінний метал, знайомство, давні часи, твердий при звичайній температурі, за виключенням ртуті, провідники тепла та електроенергії, тонкі дроти, ковкість.

Task 5. Translate the following words and word combinations into Ukrainian:

to take place, manufacture, to resist, corrosive action, to increase, at least, copper alloy, to be interested in, to a comparatively large extent, to discover, to mix, development, use of iron, separating iron from ore, quantity, low cost, valuable metal, to obtain, constituent, solids, conductor, to draw, fine wires, to hammer, thin sheets

Task 6. Read and memorize the names of the following metals and alloys:

copper, lead, gold, silver, tin, iron, mercury, zinc, aluminum, magnesium, nickel, chromium, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, uranium, titanium, bronze, brass.

Task 7. Translate the following groups of words:

compare – comparison – comparative – comparatively,

conduct – conductor – conduction - conductive – conductivity,

produce – product – production – productivity – productiveness,

class – classify – classification,

separate – separator – separation.

Task 8. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Сталь залишається основним матеріалом для виготовлення озброєння.

2. Золото, срібло та мідь – метали для виготовлення монет.

3. Бронза використовується для виготовлення предметів, що стійкі до корозії.

4. Золото та срібло знаходяться в природі у вільному стані в порівняно великій кількості, а залізо майже не існує в природі у вільному стані.

5. Цинк є однією з складових латуні.

6. Коли були розроблені методи виділення заліза з руди, воно стало цінним матеріалом.

Task 9. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the basic classification of the elements?

2. What metals were known in Roman world?

3. What were the first metals used by primitive man?

4. When did tin enter the metal picture?

5. Which name is given to one of the cultural stages in human development?

6. Does iron exist free in nature?

7. When did iron begin its career as the world’s most valuable metal?

8. Are metals solids or liquids?

9. What metal is the world’s most common metal?

Task 10. Memorize the following words and word combinations:

1.	acquaintance	знайомство
2.	to adapt	прилаштовуватись
3.	aeronautics	аеронавтика
5.	brass	латунь
6.	to cease	зупиняти, закінчувати
7.	coinage	виробництво монет
8.	conductor	провідник
9.	corrosive	корозійний
10.	to discover	виявляти, розкривати, з’ясовувати
11.	ductility	ковкість, в’язкість
12.	fine wire	тонкі дроти
13.	hard	твердий
14.	iron	залізо
15.	lead	свинець
16.	malleability	ковкість
17.	melting point	точка кипіння
18.	mercury	ртуть
19.	non-metals	неметали
20.	precious material	дорогоцінний матеріал
22.	separating	відокремлення
23.	shield	щит
24.	solid	тверде тіло, твердий
25.	standpoint	точка зору
26.	to stab	наносити удар, поранити
27.	substance	субстанція, речовина
28.	tin	олово
29.	tungsten	вольфрам
30.	undoubtedly	безумовно

UNIT 2

OCCURRENCE OF METALS

Task 1. Look at the following words and try to guess their meaning: ore, constituent, absorption, mineral, metallurgy

Task 2. Read about occurrence of metals and fill in the appropriate headings to each abstract.

Metals occur most commonly as oxides or sulphides in ores. They must be separated from gangue materials such as clay, silica, granite, etc. Nowadays, aluminium, magnesium and sodium have become common due to the development of electrochemical processes for their production. But the most widely used metals are: iron, copper, zinc, tin, lead, mercury, silver and gold.

The most important metal is iron. Iron was used in the earliest times of which we have any historical records. The art of making weapons from iron was known to the Egyptians and Hindoos.

The metal is widely distributed in nature in the form of silicates, oxides, and the sulphide, FeS. The chief ores of the metal are hematite, Fe₂O₃, limonite, 2Fe₂O₃-3H₂O, magnetite, Fe₃O₄, and siderite, FeCO₃. Iron occurs in plants and animals as a constituent of complex organic compounds. It is present in the haemoglobin of the blood and is involved in this condition in the absorption of oxygen in the lungs.

The naturally occurring materials containing compounds of the metals which may be economically extracted are called ores. The definite chemical compound of the metal in the ore is termed a mineral. The name gangue is applied to the constituents of the ore other than the mineral containing the metal to be extracted.

Iron is obtained by reducing its ores with carbon. The ores contain, in addition to the oxides and carbonate of the metal, small amounts of combined sulphur, phosphorus, and manganese and are mixed with more or less sand and clay. The metals from lithium down to manganese are obtained by electrolysis of melted compounds that conduct an electric current.

The science which treats of the methods used to obtain the metals in the free condition from compounds that occur in nature is called metallurgy.

Task 3. Give English equivalents to the following words and word combinations:

відокремлювати, використовувати, розповсюджуватись, містити, видобувати, застосовувати, відновлювати, змішувати, отримувати, поєднувати (сполучати), плавити, глина, кремній, натрій, електромеханічні якості, виробництво, свинець, срібло, олово, історичні записи, органічні сполуки, гемоглобін, поглинання кисню, здобувати, руди, розкислювати руди вуглецем, невелика кількість, проводити електричний струм

Task 4. Translate and memorize the names of some metals, materials and ores:

clay, silica, granite, aluminium, magnesium, sodium, iron, zinc, copper, tin, lead, mercury, silver, gold, sulphur, phosphorus, manganese, sand, lithium, oxygen, hematite, limonite, magnetite, siderite, gangue materials, lead, to reduce the ores with carbon, to extract the metal, chemical compound, to make weapon, melted compounds, to conduct an electric current

Task 5. Make up sentences from the proposed parts:

Ores Mineral Gangue Metallurgy

are is

… the definite chemical compound of the metal in the ore. … the science which treats of the methods used to obtain the metals. … the constituents of the ore other than the mineral. … materials containing compounds of the metals which may be economically extracted.

Task 6. Fill in the blanks with the suitable words and word combinations according to the text ‘Occurrence of metals’. The following words and word combinations you may use in the following sentences:

ores, an electric current, obtained, absorption, compounds, separated

1. Metals occur most commonly as oxides or sulphides in _______.

2. They must be _______ from gangue materials such as clay, silica, granite, etc.

3. Iron occurs in plants and animals as a constituent of complex organic ______.

4. It is present in the haemoglobin of the blood and is involved in this condition in the ________ of oxygen in the lungs.

5. Iron is _______ by reducing its ores with carbon.

6. The metals from lithium down to manganese are obtained by electrolysis of melted compounds that conduct _______.

Task 7. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Перед використанням, матеріали слід відокремити від пустої породи.

2. На сьогодні багато металів виробляються електрохімічними методами.

3. Залізо залишається найважливішим металом з незапам’ятних часів.

4. Залізо наявне в тваринах та рослинах як складовий компонент більш складних органічних речовин.

5. Щоб отримати залізо нам слід відновити його руду з вуглецем.

6. Металургія це наука про отримання металів різними методами.

Task 8. Put the verbs in brackets in proper tense form:

1. Iron (to find) in the crust only in combination with oxygen or sulfur.

2. Even in the narrow range of concentrations that make up steel, mixtures of carbon and iron (to form) into a number of different structures.

3. Crucible steel is steel that (to melt), with the result that it is more homogeneous than if it had not been.

4. Steel has been easier to obtain and much cheaper, and it (to replace) wrought iron for a multitude of purposes.

5. Copper has its characteristic color because it (to reflect) red and orange light due to its band structure.

6. Copper (to occupy) the same family of the periodic table as silver and gold.

Task 9. Answer the following questions:

1. How do metals occur most commonly?

2. What is the most important metal?

3. When was iron first used?

4. What is the chief ores of the iron?

5. How is iron obtained from the ore?

Task 10. Memorize the following words and word combinations:

1.	absorption	поглинання, всмоктування
2.	art	мистецтво
3.	carbon	вуглець
4.	clay	глина
5.	constituent	компонент
6.	to distribute	розповсюджувати
7.	electrochemical process	електрохімічний процес
8.	electrolysis	електроліз
9.	electric current	електричний струм
10.	to extract	добувати, отримувати
11.	gangue materials	пуста порода
12.	granite	гранит
13.	historical records	історичні згадки (записи)
14.	to involve	охоплювати, включати в себе
15.	lungs	легені
16.	metallurgy	металургія
17.	to occur	залягати
18.	organic compound	органічне поєднання
19.	ore	руда
20.	oxygen	кисень
21.	to reduce	зменшувати, відновлювати
22.	sand	пісок
23.	silica	кварц
24.	to treat	обробляти
25.	weapon	зброя

UNIT 3

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