Drawn into wires
Ductility.
From a lump to a wire
A goldsmith wants a very long, thin wire from a small piece of gold.
Can a metal be drawn into a thin wire?
What this lesson covers
The idea
The ability of metals to be drawn into thin wires is ductility; gold is the most ductile metal.
From a lump to a wire
A goldsmith wants a very long, thin wire from a small piece of gold.
Can a metal be drawn into a thin wire?
- Yes, metals can be drawn into thin wires
- No, it would snap at once
- Only a non-metal can be drawn into a wire
Draw the wire
Press Next step to go to the end.
Wires from metals
Metals can be drawn into thin wires. This ability is called ductility. Gold is the most ductile metal: about 2 km of wire can be drawn from just one gram. Malleability and ductility together let us give metals the shapes we need.
The ability of metals to be drawn into thin wires is ductility; gold is the most ductile metal.
Notes
Ductility: metals can be drawn into thin wires; gold is the most ductile metal.
Check yourself
The ability of metals to be drawn into thin wires is called ...
Which metal is the most ductile?
About how long a wire can be drawn from one gram of gold? (in kilometres)
Answer: 2 km
The book says a wire of about 2 km length can be drawn from one gram of gold.
2 km is how many metres?
Answer: 2000 m
2 km × 1000 m per km = 2000 m.
- malleability. Malleability is the property of being beaten into thin sheets.
- lustre. Lustre is the shining surface of a pure metal.
- ductility — correct. Yes!
- Gold — correct. Yes!
- Mercury. The book names mercury as a comparatively poor conductor of heat, and says gold is the most ductile metal.
- Lead. The book names lead as a comparatively poor conductor of heat, and says gold is the most ductile metal.